






















•» 






































P - Ibogue’s 

\ 

GUIDES FOR TRAVELLERS. 

II. 


SWITZERLAND 


SAVOY. 




WITH A MAP. 



LONDON 

DAVID BOGUE, 86 FLEET STREET. 


MDCCCLII. 








LONDON : 

Printed by G. Barclay, Castle St Leicester Sq. 



-fr 9~L\+ 


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si 

* 

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CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

Preparations for the Journey—Baggage—Language 

—Money—Passports—Choice of Route . . . 1—] 0 

Inns in Switzerland .10 

Guides—Mules.11 

Charts.13 

Currency of Switzerland.15 

Relative Value of Coins.17 

Glaciers ...” .17 

Routes in Switzerland. 

Basle to Berne.20 

Berne to Thun . • . •.31 

Thun.37 

The Oberland.39 

Interlacken.46 

Interlacken by Lauterhrunnen and the Wengern-Alp to 

Grindelwald.48 

Lauterhrunnen.50 

Grindelwald.53 

Ascent of the Faulhom.54 

Grindelwald to Meyringen, over the Great Scheideck . 56 

The Grimsel, by the Rhone-Glacier and Furca, to St. 

Gothard.63 

The Hospice of St. Gothard to Altorf.74 

Lake and Town of Lucerne.80 

Lucerne, over the Rhigi, to Arth and Zug.91 

Zug to Zurich, by Horgen.99 

Berne to Lausanne, by Freiburg.103 

Geneva and Lake Leman.114 

Geneva to Chamonix.167 

Chamonix.178 

























VI 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Excursions from Chamonix.184 

Glacier des Bos sons.186 

Cascade des Pelerins. 187 

The Flegere.188 

The Chapeau.189 

Coupeau.190 

The Brevent.190 

Col de Forclaz.192 

Col de Yoza.. 

Tete Noire. 194 

Col de Balme ..196 

Mont Buet.. 

The Mer de Glace. 200 

The Jardin. 202 

The Ascent of Mont Blanc.205 

Valley of Samoens.219 

_ Valley of St. Gervais, or Mont Joye.222 

Visit to the Valley of Sixt.225 

Chamonix to Martigny.250 

Martigny to Aosta, over the Great Saint Bernard . . . 255 

Martigny to Brieg, with the Excursion to Monte Eosa . 264 

Excursion to Riffelberg and Monte Eosa.268 

Pass of the Gemmi, and Baths of Leuk .275 

Brieg to Domo d’Ossola.285 

Brieg to Andermatt.289 

Andermatt to Chur.* | * [ 290 

Chur to Ponte in the Engadine, by the Albula Pass . . 296 

The Engadine.299 

Chur to Spliigen.303 

Coire to Constance by Ragatz, Rheinech,’Rorschach,' 

and the Baths of Pfeffers.309 

Constance to Schaffhausen. 314 

Schaffhausen to Basle.* * 3^3 

Chur to Zurich.’ ggj 

Zurich to Basle.. 

Table of Distances.325 































BOGUE’S 


GUIDES FOR TRAVELLERS. 


SWITZERLAND. 


PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY. 

Baggage. —The tourist having made up his mind for a 
trip, has three indispensable things to arrange—his bag¬ 
gage, his money, and his passport. On these points we may 
repeat the suggestions given in another volume.* “ As to 
baggage, there is a short and golden rule, which is ,—Take as 
little as possible. The man of many packages becomes a 
slave to them. On steamboats, on railways, in seeking inns 
and on leaving inns, his luggage becomes a source of anxiety, 
annoyance, and loss.” 

Mr. Albert Smith, whose experience as a tourist eve”y one 
will be ready to acknowledge, gives some very shrewd and 
practical hints to those who are about to set out for a foreign 
trip. He says:—“ I must premise, I started with a com¬ 
panion, and we each had a knapsack to carry our things. 
This latter article cost 1/. It was four inches deep, thirteen 
broad, and twelve long. A round tin case at the top was 
added afterwards. It was in three portions, for better di- 

* Bogue’s Guides for Travellers : “ Belgium and the Rhine/’ 

London, D. Bogue. 


B 






2 


BAGGAGE. 


viding the articles it contained, and one of these could turn 
upon emergency into a sort of saucepan, to go over a spirit- 
lamp which went inside it. It was at times useful for fur¬ 
nishing hot water, when there would otherwise have been a 
difficulty in procuring it. I contrived to put the following 
articles into my knapsack. It was tolerably heavy when 
charged, hut I am blessed with broad shoulders and a good 
constitution, and I never felt distressed; 

“ ^ coat, waistcoat, and trowsers, of thin black tweed, 
which were very light, and when folded up could have been 
put in a hat. These were for such occasions as might occur 
when something like evening dress was necessary. They 
were made for me by Mr. Astley, of the Quadrant, at a small 
expense. 

u A pair of light French brodequins. 

“ Five shirts: four coloured, and one white—also for great 
occasions. 

“ Four pocket handkerchiefs. 

“ Two black silk neck-ties. 

“ Four pairs of lamb’s-wool socks. 

“ Comb and brush; with some oil-silk bags for holding 
soap, sponge, nail, and tooth-brush. 

A housewife, containing pins, needles, and thread, 
scissors, and buttons. 

“ (These latter articles went in the pocket at the side of 
the knapsack, for ready use.) 

“ In the tin case at the top I had a strange collection of 
things. They comprised a few Seidlitz powders, some laud¬ 
anum, and a box of Brockedon’s compressed soda. I also 
tucked in some sticking-plaster, a dozen steel pens, a port¬ 
able inkstand with writing paper, a box of water-colours, 
note-books, string, lucifers, and other minor comforts. When 
all these things were packed there was still room for what 
few souvenirs I might collect on the way. 

“ My travelling dress was a blue blouse with useful pockets. 


BAGGAGE-LANGUAGE. 


3 


and a broad-brimmed felt bat. I started in a cap, but the 
sun so caught my face on the Moselle, that I bought the hat 
at Metz. I had a stout pair of shoes—not too thick, which 
is a great mistake; and a kind of pouch to hang at my side, 
and hold a hand-book or map, block drawing-book, knife, &c. 

“ The great advantage of a knapsack—and I speak from 
the experience of several tours made with one—is, that you 
are so completely your own master. You are dependent upon 
no porters, mules, or conveyances ; you come and go as you 
please, and you have always got all you have about you. 
Your expenses are also considerably diminished. The above 
list may be altered, according to the views of the tourist, but 
I do not think he will be able to improve it, so as to increase 
his comfort. 

“ I should state that the tourist should have contrived, in 
some way or another, to have picked up a little French. On 
the Rhine boats, and in many of the leading Swiss hotels, 
English is freely spoken; but it is by no means general, 
whereas the former language is everywhere understood. I 
would, however, warn him, by all means, against the phrase 
hooks , which will only lead him into w'orse difficulties, from 
their being like printed washing-books—filled up with a lot 
of useless things, and all necessities omitted. Ex. gratia: on 
wishing to inquire for the hour of dinner, the luxuriance of 
idiom leads the traveller into thus putting the question to 
the landlord:— 

“ ‘ At what hour shall we dine?—when is the time for dining ? 
—what hour of dinner have you ?—the dinner hour , when shall 
it he ? ’ 

“ To which the reply of the host will most probably be, in 
the book:— 

“ ‘ We shall dine at Jive o’clock—at one—at half-past seven — 
at two — at eight—a little past: And should the traveller inquire 
after the viands to be looked for on table, in a simple ques¬ 
tion, the answer will most probably be:—‘ Nous avons du 


4 


MONEY. 


lapin , des pigeons , d*/ ft®///*, cZe.s cotelettes , du des rognons , 
des lentilles , e< du frontage.’ This is only equalled by the bill 
of fare in our old spelling-book—we forget the name of the 
author, but it was the one which contained the exciting do¬ 
mestic legend that commenced ‘ Tom fell in the Pond.’ A 
few pages after, there was a dialogue about dinner, and the 
question being ‘ May I have some meat?’ the answer was— 
‘ No; you shall have some peas, and some beans, and some 
carrots, and some turnips, and some rice-pudding, and bread.’ 

“ I have a ‘Tourist’s Companion’ in four different lan¬ 
guages, which I take to be one of the finest practical jokes 
going. I can imagine no situation more embarrassing than 
that of a traveller, thrown upon a desolate hotel, with no other 
means of procuring subsistence than this work afforded.” 

X&oney. —The Continental tourist may, as regards money, 
safely rely, wherever he may go, upon the currency of English 
sovereigns and Bank-of-England notes. Should he think it 
unwise to carry with him as much as he may deem requisite 
for the trip, he can, before his departure, obtain circular notes 
of 1(M. each, or a circular letter of credit. This is done by 
paying a sum of money into the London and Westminster 
Bank, the London Joint-Stock Bank, the Union Bank of 
London, or into the banking-house of Herries, Farquhar, and 
Co.; G-lyn and Co.; or Coutts and Co. The tourist is then 
furnished with two papers, authorising him to receive, at dif¬ 
ferent towns on his intended route, the cash he may be en¬ 
titled to and require. Two papers are given, lest one should 
be lost; and the traveller should carry one of these in his 
pocket, and the other in his baggage, to lessen the liability 
of both being lost together. 

A Passport is a thing less easily arranged. For a trip 
by way of Belgium and on the Rhine, an English passport is 
wanted; if the route be by railway through France, a French 
passport is required. The following are the last regulations 
on this subject:— 


PASSPORT. 


5 


Official “ Regulations eespecting Passports.” 

Foreign Office, Feb. 20, 185].—Notice is hereby given, 
that on and after Saturday, the 22d instant, passports will 
be issued from this department, according to the following 
regulations:— 

1. Applications for Foreign-office passports must be made 
in writing, and addressed to Her Majesty’s Secretary of State 
for Foreign Affairs, with the word “ Passport” written upon 
the cover. 

2. The fee on the issue of a passport is 7s. 6<f. 

3. Foreign-office passports are granted only to British 
subjects, including in that description foreigners who have 
been naturalized by Act of Parliament, or by certificate 
of naturalization granted before the 24th day of August, 
1850; in this latter case, the party is described in the pass¬ 
port as a “ Naturalized British subject.” 

4. Passports are granted between the hours of twelve and 
four, on the day following that on which the application for 
the passport has been received at the Foreign Office. 

5. Passports are granted to persons who are either known 
to the Secretary of State, or recommended to him by some 
person who is known to him; or upon the written application 
of a banking firm established in London. 

6 . Passports cannot he sent by the Foreign Office to per¬ 
sons already abroad. Such persons should apply to the 
nearest British Mission or Consulate. 

7. Foreign-office passports must be countersigned at the 
Mission, or at some Consulate in England of the Government 
of the country in which the bearer of the passport intends to 
visit. 

8 . A Foreign-office passport granted for one journey may 
be used for any subsequent journey, if countersigned afresh 
by the Ministers or Consuls of the countries which the bearer 
intends to visit. 



6 


PASSPORT. 


A passport obtained as above will carry the traveller 
through Prussia, without any vise from the Prussian embassy 
in London. 

If the traveller have no banker, the easiest way, perhaps, 
of obtaining the requisite recommendation to the Foreign 
Office is to obtain a circular note of a banker, who will give 
the necessary line of introduction to the Passport Office. 
The Foreign Office will, it is to be hoped, make English pass¬ 
ports more readily obtainable. It is absurd to ask for a 
banker’s reference for leave to make a summer holiday on 
the Pth in e, and in Rhenish Prussia an English passport is 
absolutely requisite. To travel in Belgium alone, a Belgian 
passport is of course enough, and that may be obtained at 
once, for Os. 3d., at the Consul’s office, 52 Gracechurch 
Street, between the hours of eleven and four; where also other 
passports are vise for Is. 3 d. To travel through Belgium and 
up the Rhine, the English traveller must have an English 
passport, vise by the Belgian Consul, the total cost of which 
will be 7s. 3d . for the passport, and Is. 3d. for the vise. A 
French passport may be quickly and cheaply got at the 
French Consulate, King William Street, City. 

As a rule, a passport is not asked of the traveller in 
Switzerland; but on returning by Germany, or proceeding to 
Savoy, Italy, Austria, or France, such attestation will be found 
indispensable. In this case the passport must also bear the 
signature of a minister or consul of the country which is to 
be entered. It will be advisable to obtain this signature, if 
possible, before the commencement of the journey; but when 
this precaution has been neglected, the omission may be re¬ 
paired either in Berne or Lausanne. Berne is the usual 
residence of all the representatives of foreign states ac¬ 
credited to the Swiss Confederation, except when the Great 
Federal Council, which sits by turns at Berne, Zurich, or 
Lucerne, is in session at one of the latter towns. The or¬ 
dinary residence of the Sardinian Minister is at Lausanne. 


CHOICE OF ROUTE. 


7 

Passports are vise at the Austrian Embassy in Berne only, 
between the hours of ten and twelve a.m. At Lausanne the 
pass must be vise at the Sardinian Legation, if the traveller 
but wish to cross the Simplon ; for this he will have to 
pay four francs. If the name of the country to be entered is 
not found in the passport as originally drawn, the minister 
of the traveller’s state will have to be consulted before the 
necessary vise can be obtained. It often happens that one or 
other of the passport-offices at Berne is closed for days to¬ 
gether, on which account it is well to send on to Berne 
a passport not strictly en regie , either to some friend or an 
innkeeper, who will do what is necessary. 

The traveller going from England by way of the Bhine 
will act most wisely by getting an English passport at the 
Foreign Office, Downing Street, and then having it vis&l in 
succession by the Prussian Ambassador, in Carlton Gardens, 
and by the Belgian Consul, 52 Gracechurch Street. 

Route—After the cash, the passport, and the baggage 
have been arranged, the next question for decision is— Which is 
the best route ? For those who do not suffer from sea-sickness, 
steam-boats offer a passage direct from London to Ostend or 
Antwerp, and go up the Rhine to Switzerland. The latter 
has its recommendations for those who have much baggage. 
Steamers are also ready to carry such as please from Rams¬ 
gate to the Belgian coast. Both these, however, should 
be regarded as exceptional routes, suited chiefly to certain 
classes of travellers. The regular highway between England 
and Belgium and the Rhine, is by Dover and Ostend—the 
way the mails go. The quickest route through France is by 
the South-Eastern and Boulogne and Amiens Railway to 
Paris; thence by railway to Strasbourg and Basle. Another 
route is by rail to Chalons, and thence by diligence to Geneva 
or to Lausanne. 

The tourist when at Paris may also go thence by the 
Strasbourg line, as far as it is open towards the latter city, 


8 


CHOICE OF ROUTE. 


and then by rail to Basle. But by this route there is at 
present a long and dreary space to be travelled, by the 
dearest, and dirtiest, and most tiresome of diligences. In¬ 
deed, until the railway lines are completed, Switzerland 
cannot be reached from England through France without 
a long stage by diligence—a thing always to be avoided, if 
possible, by those who travel for pleasure and health ; when 
considerations will enter into the traveller’s decision in 
choosing the road to Switzerland, all of which may more 
or less influence him in proportion to his continental ex¬ 
perience. If he has never been abroad before, or seldom 
before, he may safely adopt one rule. It is this: Better go 
fifty miles round by railway than venture upon the track of 
a diligence. Hence, when visiting Switzerland for the first 
time, it is best to go by railway to Cologne ; then by steam 
up the Rhine to Mayence; thence by railway to Basle. 

It will afford an idea of the cost of this route, to quote 
here the tariff issued by the South-Eastern Railway. Tra¬ 
vellers may purchase, at the Booking-offices of that Com¬ 
pany at London Bridge Railway Station, Through-Tickets 
as follows :—“ London to Cologne, via Calais, first-class, 
SI. 6s. 4 d.; second-class, 21. 7s. 8d. London to Cologne, vid 
Dover and Ostend, first-class, SI. bs.; second-class, 21. 8s. 3d.; 
performing the journey to Cologne in about twenty-one 
hours.” 

Tourists who wish to avoid the salt water and its sickness 
as much as possible, may go by way of Dover and Calais. 
By so doing, the sea passage is reduced to less than two 
hours, whereas by Dover and Ostend it is always four hours, 
and generally more. Going by way of Calais, the tourist 
passes through Lille. 

The route by Ramsgate is sometimes adopted, on the 
theory of a short sea-passage to Ostend, but is not to be 
recommended, as the time of leaving Ramsgate is regulated 
by tide, and unless tide at Ramsgate and tide at Ostend 


LUGGAGE. 


9 


both suit each other, the tourist may be detained, and lose 
several hours and much patience, both places having tidal 
harbours.* 

On landing at Ostend, the traveller who has too much 
luggage begins to find out the mistake he has made—by 
the increased expense on rail, increased porterage, and also 
the need for a Commissionnaire to get it through the little 
Custom-house quickly. The employment of a Commission¬ 
naire at the Ostend Custom-house is not unwise, if there be 
ladies and much luggage : he opens your boxes for you, tells 
you the weight in English, says what you have to pay, and 
saves much trouble. If you have a sac de nuit only, such 
assistance will not be requisite. 

When going direct to Belgium by way of Calais, baggage 
is not examined by the Custom-house officers, but merely 
weighed, ticketed, and deposited in the train, for search at 
the Belgian frontier. The steamboat lands the traveller close 
to the Calais station, where he will find a good refreshment- 
room, and close to that (in the same building) the desk where 
passports are vise. Calais, like Ostend, is not a place to 
remain in longer than absolutely requisite. The Calais inn¬ 
keepers have a reputation for extortionate charges. 

The carnage of much luggage virtually doubles the tra¬ 
veller’s fare on all Continental lines. The baggage is 
weighed, and in Belgium every ounce above twenty kilo¬ 
grammes (about forty-four pounds) rigorously charged for. 
A ticket containing a number is pasted on each article, and a 
corresponding one is given to the owner, and at the end of 
the journey great is the bustle, noise, and confusion, when 
English travellers are numerous, and English portmanteaus 
and carpet-bags are in course of delivery to their respective 
proprietors. Luggage must be at the station a quarter of an 
hour before the departure of the train. 

When about to depart by railway, the traveller will find all 
* Bogue’s Guides for Travellers: “ Belgium and the Rhine.” 


10 


LUGGAGE-INNS. 


his baggage taken possession of by the officials attached to 
the station, who, as already stated, paste separate numbered 
tickets on each trunk, &c., giving the owner a correspond¬ 
ingly numbered ticket, with the name of each article of bag¬ 
gage (as “ malic," “ sac de unit" <fec.). On no account should 
the traveller take into the carnage with him any box, parcel, 
or bag, unless it is thought desirable to carry any slight re¬ 
freshments. Any package taken into the railway-carriage 
will be taken from its owner as he passes out of the Belgian 
into the Prussian territory, and although quite safe, it is 
difficult to obtain again : in fact, the owner may be detained 
until all the other baggage is examined before he can get 
such packages restored to him. 

INNS IN SWITZERLAND. 

Switzerland has, probably, some of the best inns in the 
world. The Three Kings at Basle, the Schweizerhof at 
Lucerne, the Hotel Baur at Zurich, are great establish¬ 
ments, replete with all that can yield convenience and comfort. 
But the smaller houses are, as a rule, to be esteemed good, 
while really bad inns are very rarely met with. The usual 
charges at the larger establishments are : Beds, from 2 
francs (French) upwards; dinner, at one, with wine, 3 
francs ; at four, 4 francs ; breakfast, with tea, coffee, bread, 
butter, and honey, If franc in the Speisesaale, or salle a 
manger, and 2 francs in a private room; wax-candles, 1 
franc ; servants, 1 franc. It is not usual to sup a la carte ; 
at least, it is not cheaper than to order a supper. 

In the smaller houses, the customary charge for a bed is 
from six to ten batzen ; breakfast, four to six; and dinner, 
with wine, twelve to fifteen batzen. Candles are not set down 
in the bill, and the item, “servants,” figures at three or four 
batzen : the charges here are thus one-half those of the 
great houses. In the following pages particular notice is 


INNS — QUIDES. 


11 


taken of these smaller and moderate-priced inns. No fixed 
rule can be given respecting the choice of houses of public 
entertainment; at many of the large houses the traveller 
will he treated as liberally, and may live as cheaply, as in 
the smaller inns. The specific information given further 
on under each town will, it is hoped, render the absence of 
such a rule of less consequence. As a general remark, it 
may be noticed that the prices charged to the traveller 
depend in no small degree upon his own comportment. 
He who, travelling with heavy coders, arrives at an hotel 
with great bustle and importance, finds the viands and wine 
not to his taste, is dissatisfied with his bed and chamber, 
has a hundred wants, and sets the bell ringing for each, 
must not complain if, in the end, he has much to pay. 
For a traveller of this kind the prices in the list first quoted 
are probably not too high. But did innkeepers generally 
rightly understand their own interests, they would not claim 
of the unostentatious traveller the franc now charged for 
lights, and would leave the reward of their servants to the 
discretion of their guest. What a man consumes he wil¬ 
lingly pays for, especially when it is good; but to charge as 
much for lights as would fairly pay for a bed is a downright 
imposition. However, such as the world is the traveller 
must take it, and not lose his cheerful temper because every¬ 
thing is not just as at home. 

GUIDES. 

In mountain excursions the assistance of a guide is all 
but indispensable. Most of the Swiss guides are experienced 
and well-informed men, and thoroughly acquainted with the 
country and people. Thun, Interlacken, Lucerne, Arth, 
Zug, Martigny, and Chamouny, are their principal stations. 
All the villages on and near the mountain passes also supply 
guides for those particular districts. The usual pay of a 
guide, out of which he maintains himself, is four, five, and, 


12 


GUIDES-MULES. 


in the height of the season, six (French) francs per diem, 
besides which they will expect one franc for trinkgeld. In 
addition to this they demand payment, at the same rate, 
for the days required for their return to the stations, unless 
they have an opportunity of making an engagement with 
some tourist going their way. They are bound to carry from 
twenty to thirty pounds of luggage, and stand wholly at their 
employer’s disposal; so that they answer, in the course of a 
journey, the purpose of interpreters, porters, and servants. 
Meanwhile, a guide is no slight addition to a Swiss excur¬ 
sion. To those, however, who are rather accustomed to con¬ 
sult convenience than to count their francs, a guide is to be 
strongly recommended. The tourist, thus escorted, sees by 
the way a hundred things of which the best maps give no 
intimation, and if of a genial, sociable disposition, picks up 
pleasantly a little cyclopaedia of local and historical informa¬ 
tion, besides getting a better insight of the character of the 
people. The little sendees of an attendant, such as washing 
the feet with Kirschwasser, looking after linen, &c., have too 
their worth, when one arrives tired at the resting-place. 
When two, three, or more tourists journey together, the 
proportional cost of travelling is considerably lessened, only 
it is to be remembered that the guide is not bound by the 
ordinary terms of engagement to carry more than thirty 
pounds weight of luggage. When the quantity of this is 
great, it is preferable to hire in common a horse or a mule. 
In districts much travelled the man who accompanies the 
animal will often know the way as well as a guide. Lads, 
quite competent to point out the way, and who may be had 
for half the amount of the guides’ wages, are to he met with 
in many a well-frequented route ; as, for instance, the Rigi, 
and the Bernese Oberland. Such lads, however, should 
only be engaged when the luggage is of very moderate weight; 
with heavy loads the hoys want to rest so often, that more is 
lost in time than is gained in money. 


GUIDES—CHARGES — CHARTS. 


13 


The regular guides are paid five or six batzen per hour 
or stunde, when engaged for less than a day : their return 
pay is included in this payment. The traveller requiring a 
guide for only a few days should exhibit his luggage, and 
then demand of the guide for how much he will conduct 
him, and carry his articles—say from A, by B to C—mainte¬ 
nance, return pay, and every other expense included, whe¬ 
ther the journey occupy more or fewer days. In this way 
one avoids disputes, which would otherwise arise upon nu¬ 
merous occasions; e, g. detention for half a day or more by 
rain, when the guide would not fail to charge for the time 
during which he had been hindered; or again, in the case that 
a journey is made in two days, which had been estimated at a 
three-days’ march, when the guide would expect three days’ 
wages. A fair-dealing guide will soon come to an understand¬ 
ing with a reasonable traveller upon such a footing as this; 
one who will not should be avoided. In selecting a guide 
a stranger will, as a rule, do well to consult the opinion 
of the landlord, whose good fame is, to a certain extent, 
pledged not to deliver up his customer to a rapacious plun¬ 
derer. To be sure, host and guide have, for the most part, 
common interests, and judge that one good turn deserves 
another. Usually, moreover, the guide pays nothing in the 
inn. Where everything is charged by a fixed tariff, such an 
arrangement is the business only of the host, but in smaller 
houses, or in places where only a breakfast or luncheon is 
taken, the traveller, whether he know it or not, will pay for 
his attendant. 

CHARTS. 

An accurate map is, before all things, indispensable to the 
pedestrian. Keller’s “ Road Map of Switzerland,” which 
has borne away the palm of renown for the last thirty 
years, is still the most accurate and minute of general 
maps. The Zurich edition of the map should be procured, as 


14 


CHARTS. 


worthless imitations are printed at Paris and Milan. Gall’s 
Map, published by Faesli and Co., at Zurich, is on the same 
scale (1: 600,000). That by Worl, published at Freiburg 
by Herder, in twenty sheets, is on a much larger scale 
(1: 200,000); and the glaciers, snowy mountains, roads and 
paths, having their distinctive colourings, present a very pic¬ 
turesque view of the Swiss country. It wants, however, that 
exactness which one has a right to look for in a chart of its 
size. A fine map is now in course of construction by the 
Ordnance engineers of the Confederation, hut only a few 
sheets have appeared. The establishment of Faesli and 
Co., of Zurich, is particularly rich in a choice of maps, views, 
&c., of Switzerland. 

“ If you have a companion, so much the better, supposing 
that your views in travelling, your tastes and strength, are 
tolerably matched : without this, better that each pursue his 
own path. Two companions are enough for a journey of 
this description ; three present at least this recommenda¬ 
tion, that there is always a casting vote; four may travel to¬ 
gether, hut are apt to fall into two distinct parties; five is 
out of the question.”— Latrobe. 

Ebel says, “ In Switzerland every circumstance combines 
to give the advantage to the pedestrian tourist. The traveller 
a-foot is dependent on no one’s convenience or caprice, but 
enjoys a freedom in harmony with the scenes and country 
visited. His equipment permits him to use a conveyance for 
shortening a dull route; while it leaves him free to climb 
whither neither car nor mule can reach. The magnificent 
views to be enjoyed in Alpine regions are not to he reckoned 
up, labelled, and examined like the pictures or minerals in a 
museum: they are innumerable, and, through the changes of 
the atmosphere, ever shifting; thus he who is not at full liberty 
at any moment to make the most of his opportunities will be 
continually losing the objects of his journey. All tourists have 
not the health or time to travel in this free and healthful 


WEATHER-COINS. 


15 


manner, but to those who have both, a noble and inexhaustible 
field of recreation is open.” 

Fair weather is the first condition of a pleasant visit to 
Switzerland, whose celebrities and attractions all lie under 
the open heavens. “ The months in which fair weather is 
most to be depended on,” says Ebel, “ are July, August, and 
September; and from these, therefore, should the period 
he selected for traversing the Alpine routes; which, more¬ 
over, are scarcely free from snow before June.” On the 13th 
of July, 1843, a fall of snow took place which rendered the 
routes of the Rigi and the Bernese Oberland impassable for 
six or eight days ; and on the 23d of August, 1845, a heavy fall 
occurred on the Scheideck. These, however, are exceptional 
instances. As a rule, the snow has vanished from the Rigi 
and the Bernese Oberland by the beginning of June. The 
choicest season for a tour in Switzerland lies between the 
middle of July and the middle of September. In South¬ 
western Switzerland, the Pays du Yaud, and the canton of 
Geneva, the months of September and October are often the 
finest of the year; the purity of the air and serenity of the 
sky then combine to render the autumn a delightful season. 

MONEY. 

The currency of Switzerland is in a state of complication 
and confusion to the traveller, more hopelessly unintelligible 
and entangling than even that of Germany. It were in vain 
to enter into the multifarious modes of reckoning of the 
several cantons, and it is the more unnecessary, as in nearly 
all the districts visited by travellers the stranger is, or may 
he at his request, charged in French francs, which will be 
received in payment of his bill. Should he, however, come 
into possession of any of the cantonal coins, he will do 
well to employ them all before proceeding to the next little 
state, where they may not be found current. 


16 


COINS. 


In the western half of Switzerland, Geneva excepted, cal¬ 
culations are made in Swiss francs, divided into ten batzen, 
or 100 rappen. It must he impressed on the memory that 
the Swiss franc has a value equal to one franc forty-eight 
cents, or, more practically, one franc and a-half French cur¬ 
rency ; oversight of this distinction leads to perpetual mis¬ 
takes and surprises in bargains and agreements, very amus¬ 
ing except to the losing party. The Swiss franc is 
equivalent to about Is. 2d. English, and the batz to three 
halfpence. The common Swiss coins are the half franc, 
or five-hatz piece, the batz, half-batz, and rappen. The half 
and whole batzen are very difficult to distinguish, on account 
of their almost equal weight; the first have usually a stroke 
drawn under the lettering. 

In the north-easterly parts of Switzerland, the cantons of 
Appenzell, St. Gall, and the Grisons, the twenty-four gulden 
currency of Southern Germany, namely, the Bavarian florin of 
20 d. divided into sixty kreutzers, constitutes the circulating 
medium. The zwanziger belongs to this system of coinage; it 
represents twenty-four kreutzers, and is therefore of about four- 
fifths the value of the French franc, and equal to six batzen. It 
will be found very useful in trinkgeld (drink-money, the name 
of a common gratuity), where a franc must otherwise be given, 
and is, moreover, current throughout German Switzerland. 
For the sake of completeness, notices of the peculiar coinage 
of Ticino and the smaller cantons will be given in the body 
of this work where those localities are particularly described. 

The French gold coins of twenty francs, Napoleons, are 
gladly seen by innkeepers and tradesmen throughout Swit¬ 
zerland ; they are exchanged for fourteen Swiss francs, and 
constitute the most convenient and advantageous money 
which the traveller can carry, whether in Switzerland or 
Upper Italy. A Table showing the relative value of coins 
may be found useful for purposes of reference. 


COINS—GLACIERS. 


17 


Names of Coins. — France , francs and centimes. — Germany , 
florins and kreutzers. — Prussia , thalers, silbergroschen, 
and pfennings. — Austria, in silver, florins and kreutzers. 
— Holland , gulders and cents. — Switzerland, francs, 
batzen, and rappen. 


England. 

France 

and 

Belgium. 

Switzerland. 

Germany. 

Prussia. 

£ 

s. 

d. 

Frs 

Cts. 

Fr. Btz. 

Rp. 

FI. 

Kr. 

Tli. 

Sgr 

. Pf. 

0 

0 

1-10 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1* 

0 

13 

0 

1 

0 

0 

4 

0 

a 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

21 

0 

1 

4 

0 

6 

0 

i 

7 

0 

0 

3 

0 

31 

0 

2 

1 

0 

9 

0 

2 

5 

0 

0 

4 " 

0 

42 

0 

2 

8 

0 

12 

0 

3 

3 

0 

0 

6 

0 

02 

0 

4 

1 

0 

17 

0 

4 

11 

0 

0 


1 

0 

0 

6 

8 

0 

27 

0 

7 

9 

0 

0 

10 

1 

4 

0 

7 

2 

0 

30 

0 

8 

2 

0 

0 

11 

1 

14 

0 

7 

9 

0 

32 

0 

9 

0 

0 

1 

0 

1 

25 

0 

8 

7 

0 

35 

0 

9 

10 

0 

1 

2 § 

1 

51 

a 

0 

0 

0 

42 

0 

11 

10 

0 

1 

8f 

2 

13 

1 

4 

7 

X 

0 

0 

16 

10 

0 

2 

1 

2 

60 

1 

7 

5 

1 

13 

0 

20 

6 

0 

3 


3 

80 

2 

5 

1 

1 

40 

1 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

6 

25 

4 

1 

4 

2 

56 

1 

19 

3 

0 

8 

0 

10 

0 

6 

6 

1 

4 

41 

2 

18 

10 

0 

10 

0 

12 

50 

8 

2 

8 

5 

51 

3 

8 

7 

0 

12 

1 

15 

10 

10 

0 

0 

7 

4 

3 

29 

2 

1 

0 

0 

25 

0 

16 

5 

5 

11 

42 

6 

17 

3 


Glaciers. —M. Ebel’s work states that there may be in 
Switzerland at least 400 glaciers, ranging from three or four 
to between twenty and thirty miles in length. The depth, 
he says, is in some only 100 feet, but in many it is 000 or 
700 feet. It is difficult to form an estimate of the ground 
actually covered by all the glaciers in Switzerland. M. Ebel 
computed that the aggregate area could not be much less 
than 130 square leagues, or about 1400 square miles. The 
origin, structure, and movement of these enormous masses 
of ice have engaged very much of the attention of scientific 
men during the last twenty years, and opinion is yet divided 

c 














18 


GLACIERS. 


on those subjects. The natural object which comes nearest in 
resemblance to the glacier is the iceberg of the Polar Sea. 
Indeed the iceberg itself must have formed part of a glacier. 
There is this difference, however, that the glaciers which form 
icebergs end in valleys which reach to the sea, or, at least, are 
open to it, while the glaciers of Switzerland terminate on dry 
land. The glaciers which come down from the Alps of 
Savoy, Switzerland, and the Tyrol, on reaching the warm 
districts below, melt off, and form the Po and the Rhone, 
the Rhine and the Danube. The glaciers of the polar 
valleys find their way into cold seas, melt slowly, and are 
broken off by tides and currents. A little observation is 
sufficient to show that at a certain elevation—in Switzerland, 
8G00 feet above the sea level—the mountains are covered 
with perpetual snow, and also that above another level, less 
constant, snow falls in greater or less quantities during nine 
months of the twelve. The accumulation resulting is so 
great that immense masses of snow are constantly falling 
from the higher ridges into the upper valley of the Alps. 
Piled one over another in elevated valleys, these masses 
become partially melted by the heat; but as they are too 
large to be entirely dissolved in this process during the brief 
warm season of those high regions, they last until winter 
comes on, and then freeze into a mass, whose consistenc 3 r 
Professor E. Forbes has likened to that of thick mortar, but 
which varies according to the exposure of the valley to the 
sun. Any one who has watched the formation of an icicle 
pendent from a snow-covered roof, has seen the very pro¬ 
cess by which the glaciers of Switzerland have been formed ; 
only, in this instance, the body of melted snow congealed is 
so small that it passes at once from the viscous to the solid 
form ; whereas in the glacier the semi-fluid condition is 
retained. As all the high valleys of the Alps are greatly in¬ 
clined the mass has a tendency to move down the bed of the 
valley, which is well lubricated by running streams that per¬ 
colate from the melting surface of the ice. Winter and 
summer, although slow and varying, a certain advance is 
made by the huge accumulation. The movement is greatest 
in the centre of the mass, and the top moves faster than the 
bottom. To an observer the movement of the glacier is im¬ 
perceptible, even in the height of summer; abundant proofs 
of the fact, however, present themselves, one of the most 


ROUTES IN SWITZERLAND. 


19 


striking of which is the manner in which the enormous 
snout of the mass ploughs up the ground before it. Pro¬ 
fessor Forbes states from observation, that the motion of the 
Mer de Glace during summer and autumn is as great as 
four feet in twenty-four hours in some places, and only eight 
or nine inches in others. 

The surface and fissure of glaciers are determined by the 
nature of the ground on which they lie. In continuous 
valleys which have but a gentle inclination they are also con- 
tinous, and present but few fissures. On the contrary, when 
they descend a steep incline, and their bed is very unequal, 
their surface is covered with crevasses and elevations which 
look like the billows of the ocean. During the winter a pro¬ 
found silence reigns among the glaciers; but when the air 
becomes warmer, and as long as the summer lasts, a strange 
sound is heard, often like that of distant thunder, caused by 
the ice breaking across from side to side, and a sort of slight 
earthquake sensation is experienced. When these sounds are 
heard several times in a day they are regarded as a sign of 
fair weather. The crevasses, which form daily and hourly in 
the summer, are the chief sources of danger on the glaciers. 


ROUTES IN SWITZERLAND. 


The traveller, having reached Basle by Belgium and the 
Rhine, will do well to adopt the following as the best route 
for seeing the Oberland, &c.:— 


Basle, 

Berne, 

Thun, 

Jnterlacken, 

Lauterbrunnen, 


Wengern-Alp, 

Grindelwald, 

Faulhorn, 

Meyringen. 


Extending his journey he may, with the most satisfactory 


results, go from 

Meyringen to Righi, 

The Grimsel Hospice Arth, 

Over the Furca, to Zug, 

Hospital, on the St. Gothard, Zurich, 

Altorf, Baden, 

Lucerne, Berne. 




so 


BASLE TO BEENE. 


Having made this circuit the traveller will have seen all the 
best features of the Oberland, and certainly will have ob¬ 
tained an acquaintance 'with the most charming, as well as 
some of the grandest features of the unrivalled scenery of 
Switzerland. Captain Basil Hall says, “ I may fairly 
state, for the satisfaction of those whose travels are limited 
to Europe, that in everything constituting either that 
striking interest which astonishes for the moment, or that 
which comes so strongly home to the reason and the ima¬ 
gination as to endure for ever in the memory, the Alps bear 
away the palm from every other.” This scenery by the route 
here indicated will have been seen, and the travellers be 
made acquainted with the real “ lions ” of this charming 
land. 

To see Geneva requires a much more extended journey, 
hut tliose whose time or inclination limit their Swiss 
wanderings should fill up the outline thus indicated, as for 
the space travelled they will he well rewarded. There are, 
of course, other and longer tracts, all of which will he here¬ 
after set forth. 


BASLE TO BERNE. 

Basle. Inns .—The Drei Konige, on the Rhine, excellent 
(bed, 2 francs ; dinner with wine, 3 francs ; breakfast with 
honey, If franc; service of the hotel, 1 franc; candles, 1 
franc). Storch, near the Tost office (bed, 1§ and 2 francs; 
dinner with wine, 3 francs ; breakfast with honey, 1 franc ; 
service of inn, f franc). The Wilder Mann, in the town, 
and the Kopf xind Krone, on the Rhine, are good and mode¬ 
rate houses. The Bar, in Lesser Basle ; on the right hand, 
is yet cheaper. 

Cafes .—The Casino, on the right bank of the Rhine, near 
the bridge. The Drei Konige has a cafe. 

Baths .—The swimming and bathing establishment near 
the Minster, entrance from the terrace, called the Pfalz. 
Warm baths at Sigmund’s, Holzach’s, Ac. 

Diligences .—At the Post-office will be found diligences 
for Berne, both by the Miinsterthal and by Soleure, for 
Lucerne, Zurich, the Aarau and Schaffhausen. 

Railways .—Basle is connected with France by the Alsace 
railroad, and with Germany by that of Baden. The journey 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


21 


to Strasbourg may be made by either. That of Baden is 
admirably regulated, and leads through the delightful 
scenery of the Black Forest. Travellers returning from 
Switzerland by the Alsace line can escape the annoyance of 
the French customs’ officers by taking the early express 
train for Strasbourg, and proceeding at once by the Rhine 
steamer. The other trains halt at every station, and are 
two hours longer on the road. 

Newspapers in great number are to be seen in the 
Reading-rooms near the Minster, open from 11 to 9. 
Strangers are admitted upon their request. 

Carriages .—Voituriers are to be engaged for a day, or 
a longer period. Grehm is one of the principal of them. 
Brunner, a respectable man, at the Schwanen, No. 146, has a 
good team, and drives for 12 francs daily, travelling charges 
included. 

Basle, the capital of the canton of Basle-town, is a town 
of 20,000 inhabitants, of whom 4000 are Catholics. The 
greater portion of the town is built on the left bank of 
the Rhine, and is connected with Klein, or Lesser Basle, 
on the right bank, by a wooden bridge 630 feet long. Its 
position, at a point where the frontiers of Germany, Switzer¬ 
land, and France meet, is greatly conducive to commercial 
prosperity, and has rendered it the wealthiest and most 
flourishing town in the Swiss Confederacy. 

During the fifteenth century, Basle stood in the height of 
its pre-eminence as the most powerful of the Imperial free 
cities on the Upper Rhine (it was not admitted into the 
Helvetic Confederation until 1501). At this period two 
events of great importance to Switzerland, and memorable 
in the older history of Europe, occurred; the first of these 
was the great ecclesiastical council of that date ; the second, 
the heroic death of 1400 Swiss at St. Jacob of tlieBirs. The 
deliberations of the Council, which were attended by 500 of the 
clergy, began on the 14th December, 1431, and had for their 
end “ the restoration of peace and unity to Christendom, 
the adjustment of the Hussite differences, and the general 
improvement of the Church.” But, before all things, the 
Assembly sought to establish the principle that the autho¬ 
rity of the Council was greater than that of the Pope, on 
which account Pope Eugene IV. pronounced its dissolution, 
and the excommunication of its members; the latter, in 


22 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


return, publishing the deposition of Eugene, and elect¬ 
ing Duke Amadous VIII. of Savoy, in his stead. After a 
contest of seventeen years, during which many bulls had 
been issued, the Council dissolved itself in 1448, and ac¬ 
knowledged Nicolas V. as Pope. 

The Battle of St. Jacob, the Thermopylte of the Swiss, 
took place on the 26th of August, 1444. Count Armagnac 
had collected in France a large army of adventurers, with 
whom the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XI., marched against 
the Confederates, and appeared before Basle at the head of 
30,000 men. The Swiss were posted at the mountain fast¬ 
ness of Farnsburg, about sixteen miles from Basle. In the 
language of the patriotic historian, Zschokke,—“As now word 
was brought to Farnsburg that the enemy lay in the fields of 
Miinchenstein, not far from Basle, 900 men of the garrison 
and 600 who had newly arrived there marched out to seek 
them. At daybreak, they found before the village of Pratteln 
many thousand Armagnacs, who drove them back in mur¬ 
derous combat into the trenches at Muttenz, and out of the 
trenches into the waters of the river Birs. From the towers 
of their city the people of Basle saw the little Swiss army 
driven back, before the superior might of the enemy. 
3000 men of Basle marched out to join the Swiss, and 
bring them into the city; but they narrowly escaped being 
cut otf themselves, and were forced to return within their 
walls. The Confederates swam across the Birs, and reached 
the opposite shore, where the enemy stood in force, and 
thundered with their artillery against them in vain. Again 
and again the Swiss threw themselves with fury upon the 
innumerable host of their foes. Their little force was 
broken and divided, yet still they fought; 500 maintained 
the contest upon an open meadow, the rest behind the garden 
wall of the Siechenhaus of St. Jacob. Wrathful as lions, they 
fought in the meadow till man after man fell dead upon the 
corpses of numberless enemies. At the garden wall the 
battle raged just as fiercely: three times they repelled the 
assault, twice they made a sally. At last the Avail fell: the 
Siechenhaus and chapel were set on fire. The Confede¬ 
rates, to the number of 1300, died like heroes; but the 
French, with their horses, from Pratteln to St. Jacob’s, fell by 
thousands and thousands. There stood the Dauphin still 
upon the field, and would venture no further, for he heard 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


23 


that the Confederates had come out of the stronghold of 
Zurich to bring against him their whole might. ‘ I will pro¬ 
voke this obstinate people no further,’ he cried; and, full of 
reverence for so much bravery, be met them at Ensisbeim, 
and concluded a peace.” At the burial-place of the heroes, 
not far from the town, on the road to Berne, a Gothic 
column was raised in 1824, in memory of their deeds. The 
village of St. Jacob itself, with the former Siechenhaus, lies 
about half a mile from the memorial. A marble tablet was 
placed in the church in 1844, hearing the inscription, “ Our 
souls to God, our bodies to the enemy! Here died uncon¬ 
quered, hut exhausted with victories, 1300 Confederates and 
allies, in conflict with French and Austrians, August 26, 
1444.” A red wine produced in the vineyards of Wahlstadt, 
not far from the field of battle, is called “ Swiss blood.” The 
young men of the singing-unions and rifle-clubs celebrate 
the event every year by their vocal and military fetes. 

The Minster, or Cathedral, occupies the first place among 
the sights of Basle; its red sandstone walls and two towers 
rising picturesquely before the eye on every approach to the 
town. The church was built by Henry II. in 1010, in the 
Byzantine or Round-arch style, common at that period. In 
1356 an earthquake shock destroyed a portion of the old 
structure, which was re-edified in the Gothic or Pointed 
style. The remarkable northern portal, the St. Gallen-Pforte 
adorned with statues of Christ and Peter, with a representa¬ 
tion of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, belonged to the earlier 
edifice, as also did the crypt under the choir, the nave, and 
the curious and wonderful caricature sculptures on the 
frieze, capitals, and chapiters. The choir and side-gables 
show the blending combination of the Byzantine and Gothic 
styles. The west front under the towers, with the chief 
portal and two side-entrances, belongs to the thirteenth cen¬ 
tury, and has rich Gothic sculptures and statues,—St. George 
and St. Martin, mounted; four figures of unknown kings, 
and three females. In the gable stands the Holy Virgin, 
Henry II., and St. Kunigunde; on' the tower, four French 
kings, and the Wise Men of the East. 

The interior of this venerable building was despoiled of its 
fairest ornaments by the iconoclastic zealots of the early por¬ 
tion of the sixteenth century; it contains, however, a consi¬ 
derable number of good specimens of antique wood carving, 


24 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


as well as the memorial of the famous Erasmus of Rotter¬ 
dam, on a pillar to the left of the communion-table; another 
of the Empress Anna, wife of Rudolph of Hapsburg, and her 
son, in the choir. The pulpit as well as the fount is of stone. 
The nave is divided from the choir by a Gothic screen, 
executed in 1381. The first alone is now used for divine 
worship, while the second is employed as a school-house. 
The former episcopal throne in the choir is converte 1 into a 
pulpit. 

A staircase leads from the choir to the council-chamber, in 
which, during the session of the great ecclesiastical Council 
of 1459, one of the five committees held its deliberations,—the 
Council itself assembling in the body of the cathedral. The 
chamber is so far worthy of inspection, as that it is seen in 
precisely the same state in which it existed four hundred 
years ago. The sacristan resides just opposite the chief 
entrance. The gratuity which he customarily receives for 
showing the church is three or four batzen from a single 
visitor, and for a party more in proportion. On the south 
side of the choir are several spacious and picturesque clois¬ 
ters, built severally in 1362, 1400, and 1487, and which for¬ 
merly connected the cathedral with the episcopal residence. 
For several centuries they have been used as a burial-place. 
The memorial of the reformer, (Ecolampadius, is found 
among the many sepulchral monuments of the place; and 
the names of the old patrician families of Basle, Merian, 
Passavant, and Burckhardt, are encountered on every hand. 

These walks, the favourite resort of Erasmus, extend as 
far as to the terrace behind the Minster, named the Pfalz, 
after an imperial palatinate which once existed here. It rises 
from the Rhine, to the height of seventy-five feet, is planted 
with chestnut trees, and commands a delightful view of the 
Rhine and the dark heights of the Black Forest. To the left 
is the large bathing establishment, and above it are the 
Reading-rooms. 

In the narrow street leading from the Minster platz to the 
bridge over the Rhine a Museum of the fine and useful arts 
has lately been built,— a great building, with some good re¬ 
liefs on the frieze emblematical of art and industry. 

The University Library is contained in a back-lying build¬ 
ing called Zur Mucke, in a corner of the square in which 
stands the Minster. In this building a conclave of the 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


25 


Council of Basle was held, to elect Pope Felix V. The library 
numbers from 40,000 to 50,000 volumes, with 4000 manu¬ 
scripts,— among them one by Erasmus, in Praise of Folly, 
with marginal embellishments by Holbein ; writings by 
Luther, Melancthon, Zuinglius, and others. 

The Romish antiquities are chiefly from Augst, about six 
miles from Basle. In the small picture-gallery the works 
of the younger Holbein, found here in greater number than 
in any other collection, are pre-eminent. Holbein is stated 
to have been born at Basle 1498, and died 1554 ; twenty- 
six of his pictures being in this gallery. For that of the 
“ Sacred Passion” (No. 8), an animated picture in eight 
compartments, the Elector Maximilian of Bavaria vainly 
offered, in 1641, the price of 30,000 florins. The portrait of 
Erasmus (No» 18) is one of Holbein’s best. Other portraits 
are (15) of the learned printer, John Froberius; (16), 
Schweizer, the artist’s friend ; (17), Ammesharb, his 

patron; (12), Holbein’s Wife and Children; (19), Burgo¬ 
master Meyer and his Wife; (7), A Dead Christ, said to 
have been drawn after a drunken Jew; (10 and 11), of a 
Lady, inscribed “ Lais Corinthiaca;” (13 and 14), A School, 
painted in the fourteenth year of the artist’s age as a school¬ 
master’s sign-board, and used for several years at Basle. 
Besides these a number of sketches by Holbein are shown, 
among which are his own portrait, heads of the Burgo¬ 
master Meyer’s family, designs for his famous picture in 
the Dresden Gallery, and others for the family picture of 
Sir Thomas More. There are also some fresco fragments 
of the celebrated Dance of Death, with a coloured series 
of all the figures painted on the walls of the Dominican 
Church before the} r were pulled down in 1805. These pic¬ 
tures, which are well known all over the world by litho¬ 
graphic copies, have been erroneously ascribed to Holbein, 
but they were probably 1 painted in 1439, in memory of the 
plague. A new oil-painting of the .battle of St. Jacob, by 
Hermann Hess, is worth examining. 

The Rathaus, in the market-place, was huilt in 1508, in 
the so-called Burgundian style, which is encountered so fre¬ 
quently in the Netherlands. The structure has a pleasing 
aspect. The frieze displays the arms of the three primitive 
Swiss cantons—Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden; then the 
arms of Basle, a bishop’s crook and a fish-hook; and below, 


26 


BASLE TO BEENE. 


on the left, a religious procession of children. The passages 
in the interior are embellished with frescoes, the work of 
Hans Bach and his son (1609). The frescoes hy Holbein, 
formerly in the hall of the Grand Council, have disappeared; 
the walls and roof, however, present some droll wood¬ 
carving, some of which represent the hares rising in a most 
revolutionary manner against the sportsmen and dogs. 
These works are hy Giger, and were executed 1608. In 
the -small hall at the foot of the stairs stands a statue of 
Munatius Plancus, said to have been the founder of the 
Roman Augusta Rauracorum, and also of Basle. 

The Arsenal lost the best portion of its antiquities when 
the canton was divided into Basle-ville and Basle-campagne. 
Besides the arms of the Basle federal contingent, it pos¬ 
sesses only a very few specimens of ancient armour; among 
these, however, is the coat of mail worn by Charles the Bold 
at the battle of Nancy. 

The gates, bastions, watch-tower, and ditch of Basle are 
kept in good order, though of little or no value in a military 
point of view. 

The Spalilenthor, built about 1400, is a fine specimen of 
a city gate. The Fisehmarktsbrunnen and the Spahlen- 
brunnen, with the figure of the bagpiper, after Durens’ well- 
known design, are worthy examples of middle-age architec¬ 
ture. The same may he said of the Byzantine arcade in the 
St. Alban’s convent. The former church of the Barefooted 
Friars, which at the beginning of the thirteenth century 
boasted the highest choir in the valley of the Rhine, is now 
in ruins, and is used as a warehouse. 

A curious memorial of the local feuds of which one con¬ 
tinually hears in the neighbourhood of the Borders existed 
until recently at Basle. This was the Lalenkonig, often 
mentioned in the Folks-books of the middle ages. A tower 
stood on the left bank of the Rhine, near the bridge, having 
a clock, from above which a wonderfully carved human head 
of colossal size projected. A long tongue was thrust out of 
the mouth of the figure, which being connected with the 
machinery of the clock, wagged derisively with every beat 
of the pendulum in the face of the people of Little Basle, 
on the opposite side of the liver. The figure was originally 
set up to commemorate the failure of the Klein-Baselers 
to surprise their neighbours in the dead of night. These 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


27 


on their part replied by setting up another figure, which 
stood with its back to the Lalenkonig in a most insulting 
attitude. The figure, with the tower, was removed in the 
year 1839. 

Two routes conduct from Basle to Berne; the one, the 
shortest, by Soleure (or Solotliurn), the other by the Mun- 
sterthal, the most interesting. The tourist Avho visits the 
diligence-office to secure his place is almost certain to be 
booked for Soleure, unless he particularly specify his desire 
to travel by the other route, the demand for places through 
the Miinstertlial being always briskest, while places for the 
conveyance of travellers by the less attractive road are at a 
discount. 

The distance from Basle to Berne, via Biele (Bienne), 
thus through the Birs, or Miinsterthal, is twenty-four 
stunden. Diligences run twice a-day, in sixteen hours, fare 
9 (Swiss) francs 2 batzen. A voiturier is two days in per¬ 
forming the distance, and stays a night in a good house at 
Dachsfelden. 

The Homan road connecting Aventicum (now Avenches, 
or Wiflisburg), then the capital of Helvetia, with the great 
military post of Augusta Bauracorum, led through this 
valley. 

Opposite Beinach, a few miles out of Basle, on the right 
bank of the Birs, are seen several old castles; among them, 
at Arlesheim, Schloss Birseck, the former seat of the Bishop 
of Basle, with charming prospects and gardens. Further 
on is Dornach, where, on July 22, 1499, 6000 Swiss gained 
a victory over 15,000 Imperialists, the last great conflict of 
the Suabian war. The Golgotha is to this day full of the 
skulls of the fallen. In the church of the village rests 
the body of the mathematician Maupertius, who died in 
1759. Schloss Augenstein, a stately old structure, which 
projects from a copse directly upon the road, is to-day the 
property of a citizen of Basle. 

At Aesch the Birs leaves the Jura mountains, and the 
traveller finds the landscape fairer as he presses onward 
in this pleasing route. As the valley grows narrower, the 
bold rocks which crown the heights take forms suggesting 
fortresses and battlements, while the slopes which they 
overhang are covered with firs. The valley retains this 


28 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


conformation as far as Delsberg, where it again opens 
into a basin. 

On the route is Pfeffingen, lying on the northern declivity 
of the mountain called the Blauers. The boundary of the 
cantons of Basle and Berne is at this village. At Grellingen 
the Birs, narrowed between rocks, forms a pretty waterfall. 
Further on is Zwingen, with an old castle ; Lauffen, a post¬ 
ing-station (inns, the Ivreuz and Sonne), at the junction of 
the Lusel and the Birs. 

Satjgern (French Sohiere) is a very old village, plea¬ 
santly situated. On the right bank of the Birs, upon a lofty 
and well-wooded hill, which commanded the entrance to 
the valley opposite, is seen the Scliloss Vonburg. Here 
the valley opens. The post-road deviates to the right and 
passes through Delsberg (French Delemont; inns, the Bar 
and the Kreuz), a posting-station, with a country seat of 
the former Prince-bishop of Basle. Our road, however, 
leaves Delsberg, lying at a small distance on the right, and 
now shortly begins the Munster-thal proper in a wild and 
deep gorge. 

From Delsberg, diligences run daily by Mont Terrible to 
Pruntrunt (Fr. Porentrui), formerly a residence of the 
Bishops of Basle, and thence to the French frontier. Excur¬ 
sions may be made southwards from Pruntrunt to the wild, 
romantic bank of the Doubs ; on the north-west, to the 
castle of Morsperg (Fr. Mormontl, and Pfirt (Ferette), with 
fine views of the plain of Alsace and over the Yosges. Just 
in the narrow valley of the Miinsterthal is Rennendorf (Fr. 
Courrendlin; inn, Hirsch), with considerable iron works, 
supplied with a peculiar red and granular ore from the 
neighbouring mountains. 

At Roche, the Jura has been rent by some violent convul¬ 
sions of nature, so that the rocks stand perpendicularly on 
each side, allowing the Birs free passage between. The defile 
suddenly expands, and in a wide and fruitful valley is seen 
the fine old village of Munster (Fr. Moutiers Grandval; inn, 
Krone), named after its collegiate church, which was founded 
in the seventh century by St* German us, a native of Treves. 
The sacred edifice is rapidly progressing to ruin, and the 
village contains about 1300 inhabitants. 

To pedestrians, the ascent of the Weissenstein from this 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


29 


point is to be recommended. The ascent takes about four 
hours, and is better made from here than from Solothurn, 
the more usual point de depart , as the fine prospect is re¬ 
served as a surprise for the traveller on reaching the 
summit, instead of stealing upon him imperceptibly, and 
being lost in the toils of the journey. The way leads over 
the Birs, just above the entrance to the Miinstertlial, and 
follows the course of the Rauss through the villages of Til- 
fenbach, Granfelden, and Cremine ; it then bends to the right 
into a very steep and wild defile, at the end of which lies 
Gansbrunnen (Fr. St. Joseph), with a good inn at the 
northern base of the Weissenstein, and about an hour’s 
journey from its summit. 

About three-quarters of a mile behind Munster, the road 
again leads through a romantic and fir-clad gorge, animated 
by the rushing Birs. From Court, a steep footpath, practi¬ 
cable only in summer, leads over the Mon to (about two 
hours’ walk), which commands a fine prospect, like that of 
the Weissenstein to Peri, on the road to Biel (Fr. Bienne), 
between Souceboz and Batzingen. The post-road keeps the 
chief valley through the villages of Surbelen (Fr. Sorvillier), 
Bevillard, Malleray, and Rockweiler (Fr. Reconvillier; inn, 
Goldnerlowe), to Dachsfelden (Fr. Tavannes ; inns, Krone 
and Kreuz). The Krone was entirely destroyed by fire, Sep¬ 
tember 18,1840, when seven travellers perished in the flames. 
A good half-mile from D&chsfeld the Birs takes its rise; the 
road, however, does not pass by the source, but leads up a 
steep valley, and at a distance of about three-quarters of a 
mile conducts to a natural rocky gate or archway, about 
forty feet in height, which upon several occasions has been 
strengthened by art, and employed as a fortress. The open¬ 
ing is called Pierre Pertuis (Petra Pertusa, or Porta Petrea), 
and was known to the Romans, as is proved by the remains of 
an inscription on the north side of the rock, which is thus 
restored:— 

NUMINI AUGTTSTORUM 

VIA FACTA PER SITUM 

DUNNIUM PATERNUM 

(duum) VIRUM COLON. HELVET. 

(This way was opened by Titus Dunnius Paternus, ruler 
of the Helvetian colony, under the protecting care of the 
Emperor.) 


30 


BASLE TO BERNE. 


The gate formed, at this point, the boundary between the 
Raurracian and Helvetic provinces, afterwards the bishoprics 
of Avenche, Lausanne, and Basle. 

Sonceboz (inn, Krone), a village in the Erguel-thal (Fr. 
Yal. St. Imier). From hence a good road, about ten stunden 
(or hours’ walking), and daily travelled by diligences, leads 
up this valley to Neufchatel, and also to La Chauxdefonds. 
The Erguel-thal is distinguished in Switzerland for its pas¬ 
toral riches, and the industry of its inhabitants, who produce 
large numbers of watches, and much lace. The road to Biel 
follows the course of the Scheuss (Fr. Suze) through the 
villages of La Hutte, Peri, and Renchenette, and passes close 
by the ruins of the old episcopal castle, called Rond-chatel, 
which once commanded the road. From the last slope of 
the Jura, near Biel, a noble prospect opens, extending over 
the wide district watered by the Aar, and Emme, and the 
Zilil, the lake of Biel, with St. Peter’s Isle, beyond which 
the snow-covered Alps lie, forming a crescent of sixty 
leagues, from Vierwaldstatter to the Lake of Geneva. 

At Botzingen the road debouches again upon the plain. 

Biel (inns, Jura, without the town; Krone; and Kreuz), 
lies at the base of the Jura, not tar from the lake of the 
same name, and was from 1250 to 1798 an independent free 
city, with walls and gates. The gate still displays the civic 
arms, two axes; Biel, in old German, signifying an axe. The 
road from Biel to Neufchatel, on the western bank of the 
lake, leads to St. Peters Island, celebrated as the residence of 
Rousseau in 1765. Steam-boats ply from Biel to Neufchatel. 

The Gestler, with one exception the highest mountain 
on the Jura, being 5460 feet above the sea level, and 3616 
above the lake, may be ascended from Biel, and in favour¬ 
able weather affords a fine prospect. The mountain rises 
by a series of three acclivities, and is on the southern side 
studded with numerous villages, and covered with verdure. 
A carriage-way of four stunden and a half leads almost to 
the summit, where there is an inn. The view, like that 
from Wiessenstein, extends over a great portion of western 
Switzerland, the Black Forest, and the Vosges. 

Beyond Biel, the road to Bern crosses the Scheuss, then 
the Zihl, which flows out of the lake of Biel, and after a 
course of about three miles falls into the Aar. Before Nidan 
(inn, Bar), on the outlet of the Zihl, lies an old castle, sur- 


BERNE TO THUN. 


31 


mounted with lofty towers, formerly the residence of the 
lords of Nidan, and now tenanted by an official of the canton 
of Berne. 

At Belmont, a pleasing view is obtained of the lake and 
the St. Peter’s Island. On an eminence to the right, and 
in a fir-wood, is an obelisk to the memory of the Swiss who 
fell here in 1798, fighting with the French. 

Aarberg (inn, Krone) is a small town of some strategetic 
importance, built upon a rocky headland, and at high-water 
wholly surrounded by the waters of the Aar. Only one road 
passes through the town, and this at its entrance and exit 
is carried over two covered bridges. Near the church is the 
old Schloss of the Counts of Aarberg, who, in 1531, sold their 
manorial rights to the Bernes. 

Passing Seedorf, Friensberg (where in an old Cistercian 
convent there is now a Deaf and Dumb Institution), May- 
kirch, Ortschwaben, and Neubrucke, where a covered bridge 
stretches over the Aar we reach Bern. 

BERNE TO THUN. 

Berne. Inns. —Falke, good; Krone; Distelzwang (bed, 
from 1§ French franc; dinner, 3 francs; breakfast, 1 franc). 
The Mohr and Affe, near tlie Post-office, are good houses, 
and moderate in charges. The Schmiedenzunft and We- 
bernzuft, on the other side of the Post-office, are very 
cheap houses; as is also the Bar, a corner-house to the 
left of Katigthon. The Hotel des Boulangers, a new house, 
good. 

Cafes .—In the Hotel de Musique, to the left of the clock- 
tower, the best; Cafe de la Post. Breakfasts and suppers 
very good at the coffee and eating-houses of Du Mont, over 
the bridge. The two little bow-windowed houses on the plat¬ 
form, near the Minster, are open at one b.m. as cafes : good 
ices at three batzen the glass. 

Baths at the Aar Island, at one French franc. 

Passports .—The foreign ministers accredited to the Swiss 
Confederation usually reside in Berne, with the exception 
of the Sardinian Ambassador, who dwells at Lausanne. 
When the Federal Diet is sitting at Zurich or Lucerne, the 
ministers follow it thither. The Austrian minister vises 
passes only between the hours of ten and twelve a.m. Dili- 


32 


BERNE TO THUN. 


gences run daily to Aargau : to Basle, both by the Munster- 
thal and Solothurn; to Geneva, through Freiburg and 
Lausanne; and also through Neuchatel, to Lucerne; to 
Thun ; to Vivis ; and to Zurich. 

The old capital of Berne lies on a semicircular height, 
embraced by the Aar, and contains about 24,000 inhabitants. 
The houses, built from base to roof of good free-stone, 
strike a stranger by an aspect of great strength, and their 
flights of stone-steps and long arcades suggest their Bur¬ 
gundian relationship. A long street runs through the 
whole length of the town, and forms, with its parallel 
streets, the heart of the city. The gates now open to the 
suburbs, but formerly marked the limits of Berne. No 
manufactures are carried on here, as at Zurich and Aargau, 
the natural advantages of the canton drawing capital off to 
agriculture, and the patrician spirit of the town helping to 
disfavour such pursuits. The entire aspect of Berne, the 
capital of the canton, and indeed of Switzerland, is sombre, 
not to say gloomy. The social spirit of the city, moreover, 
is peculiar, exclusive, and out of harmony with Swiss cha¬ 
racter. In Zurich and Yaud, public men mingle with the 
citzens in coffee houses, and other places of general resort. 
They are not unmindful of their origin, and do not seek to 
invest themselves with patrician superiority unsuitable to 
the magistrates of a democracy. But in Berne the de¬ 
scendants of the' old nobility have inherited their spirit. 
They isolate themselves from the people ; they never appear 
in public places, and avoid all opportunities of meeting the 
people. Hence, heart-burnings and ententes led, in 1848, to 
a revolution, followed by the proclamation of a new consti¬ 
tution ; and even the new government has had to encounter 
continual perils. 

The freedom of the city of Berne costs no less than three 
thousand francs. In return, every citizen receives a hundred 
francs per annum as interest, together with wood for his 
household. The aged poor are provided for in a fine burgher 
hospital. 

For the traveller, the most important feature in Berne is 
the view of the Alps of the Oberland, obtainable under favour¬ 
able circumstances from the terrace near the Minster. The 
terrace itself is an artificial platform, 108 feet above the 
Aar, which rushes directly below the spectator. The view of 


BERNE TO THUN. 


33 


the mountains is most beautiful at sunset, but the pecu¬ 
liar atmospheric conditions on which it can be commanded 
are of very inconstant character. If, however, the sky he 
clear, fortunate indeed is the spectator. Six of the most 
celebrated of the Bernese peaks, the Wetterhorn (on the 
east), next it the Schreckhom, then the Finster-Aarhorn, the 
Eiger, the Monch, the Jungfrau, the Gletscher-horn, the 
Mittaghorn, the Blumlis Alp, rise before the view, and with 
the Niesen and Stockhorn in the middle distance, reflect the 
rays of the declining sun in a thousand combinations of 
the most delicate hues. Besides this view, the principal 
objects to be seen in Berne are—The Minster; The Church 
of the Dominicans, now a parish church; The Church of the 
Holy Ghost; The Library; The Museum, or Cabinet of 
Natural History; The Hall of Antiquities; The Picture 
Gallery, near the Military Hospital; The Hotel de Ville; 
The Bear Garden; The Arsenal; The Mint; The Ob¬ 
servatory. 

The Bear, of whose name the word Berne is the middle 
old German equivalent, is in especial favour in this city, 
which has its effigy for its arms; and either in living bodily 
presentment, carved on public buildings or on coins, his 
figure is perpetually recurring to the eye. The Bears-ditch, 
just without the Aarburg gate, is a menagerie of these 
animals, which has been maintained at the public charge 
for centuries. In the revolutionary wars the French took 
away the bears to Paris, and their restoration was one of the 
first cares of the citizens upon the return of more peaceful 
times. On a fountain in the Street of Justice, the canton 
is represented in a militant attitude by the effigy of a bear 
in knightly armour, with sword and belt, and banner in paw. 
Another fountain has a bear attending a cross-bowman in 
the capacity of his squire. 

The Minster is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture. 
It was built in the period 1421-1457, and had for one of its 
architects the celebrated Erwin of Steinbach, so often men¬ 
tioned with regard by the historiographers of the middle 
ages, and known to the Rhine tourist as the builder of 
Strasbourg Cathedral, to which this minster is not unlike. 
On the principal or western portal are several sculptured 
designs and groups, one of which represents the Last 
Judgment, and another the Wise and Foolish Virgins. 

D 


34 


BERNE TO THUN. 


The interior contains the memorial of 700 Swiss, who fell 
in 1798 fighting against the French. 

Another object which may reward the traveller of Strasbourg 
is the clock in the Zeitglockenthurm, or clock-tower, which 
stands between two other old watch-towers in the Justice 
Street. Just as the hour is about to strike a wooden figure 
of Chanticleer makes his appearance, and crows twice with 
a great flapping of wings. Another puppet strikes the hour 
on a bell, and forthwith a number of bears emerge from the 
interior of the clock, and pay their duty to an enthroned 
figure, who at every stroke opens his mouth and inclines 
his sceptre. 

The Museum of Berne deserves a most honourable men¬ 
tion, and is not to be classed with the common, miscel¬ 
laneous, and often-increasing collections to be found in so 
many continental towns. It is truly a repertory of what¬ 
ever is characteristic in the natural history of Switzerland. 
Here are specimens of the lammergeyer, or lamb-vulture, 
with the exception of one species the largest of birds, and 
building only in the highest mountains of the Alps. The 
highly-interesting geology of Switzerland, on which our 
countryman Forbes has bestowed so many years of suc¬ 
cessful study, is amply illustrated in the geological and 
mineralogical departments of this museum, as well by fossils 
and minerals as in a series of plans in relief. The bear 
meets one again in the zoological department, stuffed spe¬ 
cimens of the animal, from the size of a kitten to that of 
the full-grown quadruped, being here carefully preserved. 

The distance from Berne to Thun by the direct road on 
the right bank of the Aar is rather over five stunden, or 
about seventeen English miles. Diligences leave Berne twice 
in the forenoon and once in the afternoon. Fare: cabriolet, 
18; interior, 15 batzen. The road on the left bank, i.e. 
to the right of the river in going, offers prettier prospects, 
but is two stunden longer than the other. A fourth dili¬ 
gence starts for Thun by this route at noon. A cheaper 
conveyance ( personwagen ) than these leaves Berne at half- 
past five a.m., and returns in the evening. The market- 
boat, which leaves Thun daily for Berne, and makes the 
passage of the Aar in about tw’o hours, has few conve¬ 
niences, but may at a pinch be a serviceable conveyance, 
especially to pedestrians: the fare is 4 batzen. A decked 


BERNE TO THUN. 


35 


boat from Thun to Berne may be had for 30 French francs. 
A voiturier charges for the land journey 18 French francs 
and trinkgeld; he has no right to charge back-fare by this 
route. A Thun voiturier returning thither may be engaged 
for 10 or 12 francs. 

Leaving Berne by the customary route, the traveller as¬ 
cends the hill of Muri-Stalden, and can now look down into 
the deep valley of the Aar, whose azure waters announce 
their origin among the pure glaciers of the Hautes-Alpes. 
Presently Berne disappears, and the vicinage of the Aar is 
only recognisable by the hoarse murmuring of the stream. 
At the distance of a mile from Muri-Stalden the way diverges, 
one road leading to the Emmenthal, the other tending di¬ 
rectly to the Oberland. At the egress from the grove of 
trees, through which the high-road leads, the view becomes 
more rural; the villas of the citizens occur at longer intervals, 
and are separated by small woods, farms, and houses, with 
thatched roofs. About two minutes’ walk from the church 
of Muri, a road leads to the right of the highway; a point 
from which the artist Aberli has taken one of his most 
charming landscapes. The way leads between a few houses 
right up a hill, which may be climbed in five minutes. 
When the ground is not sown, the stranger may ascend as 
far as to the two lindens, which cross its summit, and enjoy 
a wide and delightful view. 

Following the road, the Aar is again seen on the right; 
and beyond it, at the foot of the Belpberg, the great village 
of Belp; behind which again the Laengenberg is seen, 
whose gently-inclined slope had been hitherto concealed by 
the Grurten, From Muri the road is continued, almost on a 
level, between pasture-lands, orchards, and fields, as far as 
Allmendingen, where it rises gently and intersects a small 
wood. On the left is a small eminence called the Hohullin, 
whose summit bears traces of human operations of a very 
remote antiquity. In the neighbourhood of Allmendingen 
are found the remains of a temple, where the Druids offered 
their sacrifices. From Allmendingen as far as Thun, the 
view on the left of the route is of a commonplace character, 
and limited, with the exception of some occasional vistas, 
through one of which is seen Giimlingen. Further on the 
eye penetrates the pretty valley of Diessbach and its green 


30 


BERNE TO THUN. 


pastures ; and near Thun, the village of Steffisburg may he 
discerned. 

From Bubigen, a hamlet where now only one sad solitary 
house is standing, the road leads to Miinsingen (inn, Lowe), 
a parochial village, which has several times been burnt down, 
—a fact to which it owes much of its present beauty. It was 
at Miinsingen that was held, in the spring of 1831, the great 
popular assembly, which wrested the cantonal government 
from the oligarchy, and established the existing present 
more democratic constitution. The village is situated oppo¬ 
site the Belpberg, and at the foot of the Haube; a hill, on the 
slope of which lies the little village of Ileutlingen. The 
road now passes by Wichtraeh, Heimberg, and Neuhaus to 
Kiesen, through a well-cultivated country. A pretty chateau, 
surrounded with hives and acacias, crowns the gentle height 
at this latter place, and some new well-built houses lie at its 
base. The clear stream of the Kiesen, issuing from the 
smiling valley of Diessbach, becomes suddenly visible, and 
runs close to the road. Above the village of Diessbach, 
situated in a fertile and well-watered valley, between the 
mountains of Kurzemberg and Bucholterberg, is the steep 
rock of Falkenfluh. To the south of the Falkenfluh, and 
nearer to the road, the rock called Heimbergfluh rises, and 
forms with its fellow the powerful bulwarks of the Emmen- 
thal. The scenery now changes, and the route enters a 
sombre region of forests, which forms the entrance to the 
district of the Heimberg, which extends as far as Sulg. The 
forests traversed, the country opens again to the right, towards 
the Biinberg; on which are seen the houses of Thunerges- 
chreit. Further on, Eicliberg, Uetendorf, and Burgistein rise 
into view. In this part of the journey the thickly-scattered 
rural dwellings, chiefly those of substantial farmers, sur¬ 
rounded with neat gardens, give an idea of agricultural pro¬ 
sperity, and agreeably diversify the landscape. Near the 
extremity of the Heimberg, a pretty valley opens on the 
east, and ascends at a gentle inclination as far as to the 
plateau of the Schwarzenerb. The mountain itself starts 
suddenly and perpendicularly from the plateau. The Sulg 
or Salg, a wild torrent, precipitates its waters from the moun¬ 
tain to the bottom of a pebbly ravine. It takes its source 
among the heights of Segriswild and Mont Blume. The 


BEltNE TO THUN. 


37 


masses of the Stockholm and the Niesen now appear, and 
engross attention by their imposing aspect, The first rises 
to the height of 6760 feet, the second 7340 feet above the 
sea level. Entering Thun the traveller enters the Oberland. 

Inns .—The Bellevue is not only the best in Thun, but 
one of the best in all Switzerland. It stands on the border 
of the lake, near the steam-boat landing-place. The quiet, 
dignified tone prevalent in the establishment, assimilates it 
rather to a private mansion than to a hotel. 

Its gardens are as large as many a baronial castle, and in 
them is a chapel, where the English service is performed. 
These gardens are situated on the slope of a height, and by 
winding paths the visitor may ascend to Jacob’s Chapel, from 
which there is a beautiful prospect over the lake. Messrs. 
Knechtenhofer, the proprietors, have another inn near the 
Bellevue, the Bateau-a-Vapeur, at which the boat lands passen¬ 
gers, and also a pension: at these houses the visitors may be 
well entertained, at lower charges than at the chief establish¬ 
ment. The Freyenhof and Ealke, Ivreuz and Krone, are fair 
second-class houses. The pensions are mainly supported by 
English visitors, who flock here in considerable numbers, 
and are provided with everything for five francs a-day. 

Thun, placed in the vestibule of the Oberland, uniting the 
sublimity of mountain scenery with the softer parts of the 
country which stretches towards Berne, is one of the most 
picturesque spots in all Switzerland : the town is full of cha¬ 
racter and reminiscence, while its environs present a perfect 
miniature of Oberland scenery. The older and chief portion 
of the town is cramped and crowded. Some of the streets 
remind an Englishman of the rows in the city of Chester, 
there being a kind of terrace, about ten feet high, on each 
side, by which the shops are gained ; the carriage-way pass¬ 
ing between what are, in fact, the cellars of the houses. The 
Aar flows here clear as crystal, in two separate streams, one 
of which intersects the town, while the other laves its external 
walls. The ancient church stands on a height overlooking 
the most delightful scenery: the town, with its outlying 
gardens and pretty country-houses, lies beneath the spec¬ 
tator; the gigantic Niesen and Stockholm back the view, 
and the tranquil lake reflects the whole picture from its 
clear surface. 

From the pavilion of St. Jacob, the ascent to which is rather 


38 


BERNE TO THUN. 


steep, almost the same objects are seen, but the view is more 
extensive. Seats are now placed at intervals on the steep, 
which render the ascent more easy. 

The Bsechi-Hoelzi offers, at every turn, agreeable surprises 
and vistas, some of which extend as far as to the distant 
glaciers. On a fine evening, at sunset, the spectacle is 
sublime. The best point for enjoying this scene is at a seat 
on the margin of the little wood, and which bears the in¬ 
scription, “ Repose et Jouis,” and the following lines :— 

“ Avec leurs grands sommets, leurs glaces eternelles, 

Par le soleil couchant, que les Alpes sont belles ! 

La verdure, les eaux, les bois, les fleurs nouvelles, 

Tout dans leurs frais vallons sert a nous enchanter. 

Heureux qui sur ces bords peut longtemps s’arreter ! 

Heureux qui les revoit, s’il a pu les quitter ! ” 

Penetrating the wood, and continuing the promenade 
by the side of the Hunnibach, a quarter of an hour’s walk 
by a romantic path brings one to a cascade, formed by the 
stream, which having forced for itself a passage through a 
mass of rocks, precipitates its "waters with much noise into 
a wild-looking cavern. Returning to the town, the stranger, 
by crossing the Aar, may admire the pretty grove of the 
Schsedan, where the lake presents its fairest aspect. A 
pleasing promenade, passing before the old chapel of 
Scherzlingen, leads to the gates of Thun. 

On the opposite side of the town, and on the right hank of 
the Aar, is the richly-shaded walk of the Schwabis. Seats 
are found here, from which numerous agreeable views of the 
neighbouring mountains may be enjoyed. 

Numerous agreeable drives, each of which would suffice to 
make the reputation of an ordinary town, may be taken from 
Thun. The chief of these are to the following localities. 

Thieracken, which, situated on a hill over against Thun, 
offers a most extensive view. The foundation of its church 
dates from the 10th century. At the Muhlemmattvoisin five 
tombs of a very high antiquity were found in 1767. When the 
weather is serene, not only the distant glacier may be seen, 
but also the spires of ten villages. 

Asmoldingen, placed on the same hill, but more in arrear, 
is a pleasing village on the little lake of the same name. 
The old chateau and its promenades are exceedingly pic¬ 
turesque. The ruins of the chateau of Jadgberg are seen 


THE OBERLAND. 


39 


mirrored on the lake. In 1809 an old house was taken down 
here, when numerous Roman remains were discovered. 

The road to Wimmis, at the entrance of the Simmenthal, 
offers a succession of fine views. Wimmis itself lies on 
one side of an undulating plain, rich in every kind of fer¬ 
tility, and bounded by lofty mountains on three sides. Be¬ 
hind, and on either side, the hills are covered to their very 
summit with wood, and rise in picturesque forms to the 
height of six or eight hundred feet. The Simmen runs close 
to the village, the houses of which are white and detached. 
The church here was built by the Transjuran king, Rodolph, 
in 932. The chateau, built on a very high rock, is surrounded 
by a tower. In returning from Wimmis to Thun, the road 
to Spiez-Wyler should be taken. 

Histerfingen is a pretty Bernese village, agreeably situated 
between the lake, vineyaTds, and orchards. The presbytery 
of the old church, founded by Rodolph of Strattlingen, pre¬ 
sents a pleasing view of the lake. 

Agreeable as are Thun and its environs to the tourist, it is 
chiefly important as the portal of the Bernese Alps, which 
compose what is called 

THE OBERLAND. 

The word Oberland, in its most extensive sense, is applied 
to the whole southern part of the canton of Berne. It com¬ 
mences at Thun, being at first bounded by the Gurnighel 
and Emmenthal; from these it opens with a fan-like con¬ 
figuration to the south, where the height of the mountains 
increases, as far as to the frontiers of the Valais, from which 
it is separated by the Hautes-Alpes and their immense fields 
of ice. It is contained on the eastern side by the cantons of 
Lucerne, Unterwalten, and Uri, and on the west by those of 
Fribourg and Vaucl. Independently of the valley of Sarine, 
which opens on the side of the last canton, and that of Belle- 
garde, the greater part of which is in the territory of Fribourg, 
the Oberland is composed of four great valleys, running from 
north to south, and whose waters, as well as those of their 
ramifications, fall into the lake of Thun. The most westerly 
of these valleys is the Simmenthal, which forms a kind of 
crescent between the chains of the Niesen and the Stock- 
horn. It is, as its name applies, drained by the Simme, 
which falls into the Kander. To the east of this valley, that 


40 


THE OBERLAND. 


of the Kander, also the name of an impetuous stream, which 
traverses its entire length, and along which the path of the 
Gemmi lies. The two valleys unite in the western hank of 
the lake of Thun, and there form a fine campagne covered 
with villages, and meadows of the richest verdure. The two 
other valleys open to the south-west, near the commence¬ 
ment of the lake of Thun, and form the true Oberland. It 
is here that nature has lavished her beauties with unsparing 
hand to form one of the most charming regions of the world. 
Of the two valleys, the more eastern is that of Hasli, which 
follow the course of the Aar; the other is traversed by the 
Liitschine, and divides into two branches, which form the 
valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. Their united 
waters join those of the Aar, in the pretty dale of Boedeli, 
and fall with them into the lake of Thun. The principal 
mountains of this region are the Finster-Aarhorn (Peak of 
the Black Eagle), 14,106 feet above the sea; the Jungfrau 
(Virgin), 13,718; and the Schreekhorn (Peak of Terror), 
13,386 feet above the same level. 

The routes in the Bernese Oberland have undergone 
considerable change within the last few years, owing to 
the steam-boat service on the lake of Thun, the new road 
from Thun to Interlacken, and the new auberges on the 
Wengern-Alp, and on the summit of the Faulhorn. 

The following plans of excursion into the Oberland will 
assist the tourist in adjusting the extent of his wanderings 
to the time at his command:— 

Tour of Three Days. 

First Day .—From Thun by steam-boat, at six a.m. for 
Neuliaus; thence, at a quarter-past seven, for Lauterbrunnen, 
seven miles ; visit the Staubbach, half a mile distant, at ten, 
at which hour it is seen to most advantage ; then to Wengern- 
Alp, fourteen miles, but five hours’ walking and climbing; 
where stop and see the Jungfrau in the evening, or go on 
to Grindelwald, a descent taking three hours. 

Second Day .—Leave Grindelwald early; see the upper 
glacier; dine at Meyringen, seven hours’ walk; see the 
Beichenbach, and sleep at Brienz. 

Third Day .—See the Giessbach ; get early to Interlacken, a 
three-hours’ walk; visit the environs; depart from Neuhaus 
at four p.m., and arrive at Berne at nine of the same evening. 


THE OBERLAND. 


41 


Tour of Four Days. 

First Day. —As in preceding route, to Wengern-Alp. 

Second Day. —To Grindelwald, thence to the Faulhorn, 
and there sleep. 

Third Day —Dine at Meyringen; see the Reichenbach; 
sleep at Brienz. 

Fourth Day. —As the third in preceding route. 

Tour of Five Days. 

The three first days as in preceding route. 

Fourth Day. —Ascent of the Kerchet, Brienz, the Giess- 
bach ; sleep at Interlacken. 

Fifth Day. Visit the environs of Interlacken, return at 
four p.m., and leave Neuhaus for Berne. 

Tour of Eight Days. 

First Day. —See the environs of Thun, and sleep at Inter¬ 
lacken. 

Second Day. —Continue the inspection, ascend to the ruins 
of the castle of Ringenberg, and to Lauterbrunnen to sleep. 

Third Day. —To Trachsellanonen, thence to the Steinberg, 
and sleep at the Scheideck. 

Fourth Day. —To Grindelwald, and in the afternoon to the 
Faulhorn. 

Fifth Day. —By Rosenlaui to Meyringen. 

Sixth Day. —To the Hospice of the Grimsel. 

Seventh Day. —Return to Meyringen. 

Eighth Day. —Return to Berne. 

The views from the Lake of Thun combine grandeur with 
beauty in a more complete degree, perhaps, than any other 
in Switzerland. On leaving Thun, the voyager has on his 
right hand and left scenery of a soft and gentle character, 
enlivened with pretty villas and gardens; but the north bank 
soon becomes precipitous, while on the south, the two giant 
guardians of the Simmentlial, the Niesen and Stockhorn, 
thrust, the first a huge pyramid, the second a sharp, 
horn-like termination, upwards to the sky. The background 
of the picture is formed, to the south-east by the Monch, 
the Higher, the Jungfrau, and other Oberland mountains, 
which overtop the more proximate Abend and Morgen bergs. 
The Kander, whose embouchure is seen on the right soon 


42 


THE OBERLAND. 


after leaving Thun, formerly flowed into the lake by a cir¬ 
cuitous course, and, for want of higher hanks, often over¬ 
flowed the country. In 1714, however, a channel was formed, 
by which its waters were lecl directly into that of Thun. At 
present this canal bears no traces of its artificial origin, 
except in the straightness of its line. About six miles down 
the lake the waters attain their greatest depth, and the 
Oberland mountains are seen as soon as the “ Nose,” a pro 
montory on the south bank, is passed. On the north bank 
is seen the pretty village of Merlingen, with its population 
of vine-dressers and boatmen. Merlingen is the Bceotia of 
the Oberland, and many curious tales of its inhabitants are 
current in the surrounding valleys. Further on, and on the 
same side of the lake, is the Grotto of St. Beatus, under 
which the finest of the many cascades about here falls into 
the lake. The curious in legends have only to open their 
ears to the many eccentric performances of the saint in the 
cavern and on the lake. The village of St. Beatenberg is 
close by, and has a population of 800. 

Neuhaus, at which the steamer disembarks her passengers, 
serves as the port of Interlacken. Until lately it consisted of 
but one solitary hostel; a few houses have now been built on 
the margin of the lake. It is, however, no resting-place, and 
the tourist may at once commence the tour of the Oberland, 
availing himself, if he pleases, of the carriages, horses, 
guides, porters, &c., which he will find waiting in abundance, 
or go on to Interlacken, a distance of two miles, traversed by 
an omnibus on the arrival of every steamer: fare, 1 franc. 

Carriage hire here, and at Interlacken, is regulated by an 
authoritative tariff of charges, the chief items of which 
follow:— 

From Neuhaus to Interlacken, with 1 horse (einspan- 
ing), 2 French francs; 2 horses (zweispaning), 3 francs. 
From Neuhaus, or Interlacken, to Grindelwald and back on 
same day, 1 horse, 9 francs; 2 horses, 18 francs. To 
Lauterbrunnen and back same day, 1 horse, 6 francs; 2 
horses, 12 francs. To Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald and 
back same day, 1 horse, 10£ francs; 2 horses, 18 francs. From 
Brienz to Meyringen and back, 1 horse, 6 francs ; with 4 
persons, 7£ francs; 2 horses, 12 francs. If the carriage is 
kept out anight, the half of these sums is to be paid in addi¬ 
tion. Besides a trinkgeld, the traveller has nothing further 


THE OBERLAND. 


43 


to pay. A horse or mule costs, with a man or lad to ac¬ 
company it, from 6 to 9 francs per diem; from Grindel- 
wald to the Faulhorn and back, 9 francs; to the Glaciers, 2^ 
francs ; to the Eismeer, 4^ francs. 

The following schemes of routes exhibit the various 
modes of reaching the most noted scenery of the Oberland. 
The distances from point to point are expressed according to 
the Swiss and German custom, not by any definite measure 
of length, but by stunde, or hour’s walking. The stunde 
varies, according to the nature of the ground, from 3 to 2 
English miles. The letter m represents minutes’ walking. 


From Interlacken to Meyringen, 
by Brienz, 6§ stunden. 


Aarmiihle 

5 m. 

Fall of the Oltschei- 

Interlacken 

10 

bach . . .25 m. 

Bridge over Aar . 

5 

Unter der Heid « . 5 

Voyage on the Lake to 


Balm . . . .5 

Brienz . 

3 st. 

Fall of the Falcheren- 

Tracht 

15 m. 

bach . . .15 

Bridge of Glysibach . 

15 

Neubriick . . .30 

Kienholz 

10 

Eisenbolgen . . 10 

Bridge of Gurgenbach 

15 

Meyringen . . 5 

Bridge of Wyler 

45 



2. From Interlacken to Meyringen, 
by Iseltwald, 6 stunden. 


Matten 

20 m. 

Iseltwald 

10 

Bridge of Liitschinen 

30 

Maison du Maitre 


Boenigen 

5 

d’Ecole et Giessbach 

65 

Pont . . . . 

10 

Inder Engi 

20 

Erschwend 

15 

Winkel 

60 

Sengg 

35 

Fall of Oltschibach 

40 

Pont . 

5 

Meyringen 

65 


3. From Interlacken to Tracht, 
Carriage road, 3f stunden. 


Interlacken 
Bridge over Aar 
Golzwyl 
Golzwylersee 


. 15 m. Piinkenberg 

. 5 Nieder-Ried 

. 15 Pont . 

. 10 Klein Oberreid . 


. 15 m. 
. 35 
. 20 
. 10 



44 


THE OBKRLAND. 


Gross-Oberried . . 20 m. 

Ebligen . . .25 

Pont . . . .25 


Bx’ienz . . .15m. 

Tracht . . .15 


4. From Meyringen to Grindelwald, 
9 stunden, 45 m. 


As in route 2, as 
far as to the 
Upper fall of 
the Giessbach 

3 st. 15 m. 

lm Boden . 1 0 

Tschingelfed . 0 30 


Faulhorn (summit) 

1 st. 30 m. 


Bachsee 

. 1 

10 

Bach alp 

. 0 

25 

Holzmat . 

. 0 

50 

Grindelwald 

. 1 

5 


5. From Meyringen to Grindelwald, 
6 stunden 55 m. 


Eisenbolgen 

5 m 

Bridge over Aar 

10 

Reichenbach 

20 

Willigen 

10 

Schwendi . 

20 

Swirgi 

15 

Sagemiihle (mill) 

25 

Pont de Reichenbach 

5 

Scliwandmatt 

10 

Baths of Roslaui 1 st. 

10 

Pont .... 

10 

Pont de Gemsbach 

15 


Gemmi 

. 15 m. 

Rossalp 

. 5 

Scheideck . 

. 10 

Pont de Bergelbach 

. 45 


sur la Liits- 


cliine . . .35 

Upper Glacier of Grin¬ 
delwald . . .25 

Pont sur la Liitscliine 35 
Moos . . . .15 

Pont de Miihlibach . 10 
Grindelwald . .15 


0. From Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen, 
by the Scheideck, 63 stunden. 


Grund 

.. . 35 m. 

Staldenfluh 

. 20 

Wergistlial . 

. 30 

Scliiltwald . 

. 10 

Alpigeln 

. 1 st. 

Wengen 

. 30 

Wengern-Alp 

. 1 15 

Grund 

. 45 

Wengeren . 

. 45 

Lauterbrunnen . 

. 15 

Mettlen 

. 15 




7. From Lauterbrunnen to the Staubbach, 10 minutes. 



THE OBERLAND. 


45 


8. From Lauterbrunnen to the Schmadribach, 
by Stechelberg, 4 stunden, 30 m. 


Staubbach . 

10 m. 

Trachsellauenen 

. 15 m. 

Pont de la Liitschine 

10 

Hauri 

. 10 

Triimmelbach 

10 

Hauteur 

. 15 

Im Grand . 

10 

Prairies 

. 10 

Stechelberg 

15 

Steinberg . 

. 25 

Schwendi . 

5 

Lac d’Oberhorn . 

. 45 

Reuti .... 

10 

Steinberg . 

. 45 

Sichellauenen 

10 

Schmadriback 

. 20 

In der Matten 

5 




9. From Lauterbunnen to the Schmadribach, 
by Wintereck, 7 stunden, 15 m. 


Hauteur du Staubbach 50 m. 

Pont de Sefinen . 

35 m. 

Wintereck . 

. 35 

Pont de la Liitschine . 

30 

Murren 

. 40 

Renti .... 

5 

Griimmelwald 

. 40 

To Schmadribach 3 st. 20 

10. From Thun to Unterseen, by Gunten, 4f stunden. 

Hofstetten . 

. 5 m. 

Ralligen 

5 m. 

Bsechigut . 

. 10 

Merligen . 

30 

Pont de Hiinibach 

. 5 

Beatenberg (ehemin 


Eschenbiihl 

. 10 

du) 

30 

Hilterfingen 

. 15 

Balmwald . 

5 

Oberhofen . 

. 15 

Caverne de Saint-Beat 

10 

Oertli 

. 35 

Sundlauenen 

25 

Herzigacker 

. 5 

Kiiblisbad . 

15 

Gunten 

. 5 

Neuhaus 

5 

Pont de Pfannen 

. 15 

Unterseen . 

30 

Stammbach 

. 10 



11. From Thun to Grindelwald, 9£ stunden. 


To Unterseen see No. 10,44 st. 

Pont de la Liitschinen 

15 m. 

Matten 

. 20 m. 

Giindlischwand . 

20 

Ruine 

. 20 

Biilh . 

25 

Wiki erswyl 

. 10 

Burglauenen 

45 

Pont de la Saxeten 

. 5 

Enge .... 

25 

Inscription . 

. 20 

Hopital 

40 

Sweyliitschinen . 

. 20 

Grindelwald 

10 






46 


THE OBEBLAND. 


Pont de l’Aar 
Kirchhet height . 

Pont sur l’Aar 
Imhof 
Bottigen 
Ochistein . 

Urweid 

Pont de Zubenbach 
Lower Urweid 
Schwanden 
Pont . 

Benzenfluli . .10 

Font de Benzlauibach 5 
Im-Boden . . .10 

Aegerstein . . .5 

Pont de Spreitbach . 10 
Guttanen . . .15 


Pont de Tschingelmatt 15 m. 
Pont de Schwarzbrun- 
nen . . .25 

Fall of the Aar . 5 

Foret . . . .20 

Pont de Aerlenbach . 15 
Chalet of the Handeck 5 
Helle-Platte . .15 

Petit pont de Boege- 
lein . . .10 

Grand Pont . .15 

Rocher, Boese, Seite 
(mauvais pas) . 5 

Pasturages of Rode- 
rischboden . . 25 

Pont de l’Hospice . 25 

L’Hospice . . .15 


12. From Meyringen to the Grimsel, stunden. 

. 15 m. 

. 10 
. 30 
. 10 
. 5 

. 15 
. 10 
. 10 
. 5 

. 5 

. 5 


For those who propose to travel the customary road by 
Lauterbrunnen, Grundelwald, the Scheideck, and Meyringen, 
to the Hospice of the Grimsel, no guide is in the least neces¬ 
sary. Groups of tourists may be seen traversing the route on 
a fine summer’s day. The way cannot be mistaken; even the 
traces of horses and mules would suffice to assure the hesi¬ 
tating traveller. At the same time, those who prefer the 
convenience of an attendant, who would willingly shift their 
small baggage to other shoulders, may engage the sendees 
of a guide, and will find his company instructive. Lads will 
present themselves, who, for a couple of francs per diem (no 
back-pay), Will show the way, and point out objects of inte¬ 
rest. For excursions over the Grimsel, the Furca, or the 
Brienzergrat, or upon the Rothhorn or Faulhorn, a guide is 
indispensable. They may be engaged at the nearest villages 
and inns,—at the Grimselspital, Brienz, or Grindelwald. 

INTERLACKEN. 

The space between the lakes of Thun and Brienz is occu¬ 
pied by the valley of Interlacken, one of the most popular 
spots in all Switzerland. Its form is somewhat singular. 


INTERLACKEN. 


47 


Surrounded by lofty mountains, it is nevertheless open, and 
might almost be called a plain. On the east and west it 
looks towards the two lakes, and on the south towards the 
valley of Lauterbrunnen,— its boundaries thus giving it a 
triangular configuration. The beauty and fertility of this 
little valley are extraordinary. The greenest and most luxu¬ 
riant meadows, the richest and most variegated foliage, or¬ 
chards red with fruit, gardens enamelled with flowers, form 
altogether a picture of singular beauty. The plain is 
strewed with picturesque eminences, rocky, and overspread 
with fine timber; ancl along the right side of the Aar the 
bank rises gradually up to the old mountains which shut in 
the valley. The immediate environs present the picturesque in 
most various aspects, and the peaks of the Silberhorn, 
Monch, Eiger, and Jungfrau are the boundaries of its 
horizon. The climate is delightfully soft; and in the hot¬ 
test sun, the fine avenues of walnut-trees offer an effectual 
shade. 

Interlacken has, since some years, changed its physiognomy 
and aspect. It is no longer a Swiss village, but an English 
settlement. The wooden houses, with their long inscriptions 
from the Psalms, their high-pitched roofs and oval windows, 
have been replaced by comfortable habitations. The indi¬ 
gent have been sent away to Unterseen, and the village is 
now almost exclusively occupied by English tourists and 
residents. The houses and hotels, which nearly make up 
Interlacken, are sprinkled about amid the trees upon either 
side of a broad avenue which extends from lake to lake. 

Hotels .—The Jungfrau, the best for passing guests (charge, 
five francs per diem with wine); the Belvedere, in the centre 
of the village, opposite the Lauterbrunnen valley, very good ; 
and the Hotel d’lnterlacken, indifferent. The two last lie 
near the Brienzer-see, without, however, commanding the 
view r of the lake. Besides these, there are as many as a dozen 
w'ell-built and w'ell-appointed houses, called pensions, which, 
within and without, fulfil every purpose of luxury and con¬ 
venience. Formerly, these were open as boarding-houses 
only to strangers intending to make a considerable stay at 
Interlacken ; but they may now be used as hotels by tra¬ 
vellers remaining but a day; while those w'ho stay four or 
five days, or longer, may live en pension, paying for board and 
lodging, without wine, for five or six francs a-day. The best 


48 


INTERLACKEN BY LAUTERBRUNNEN. 


of these houses are the Casino, the pensions of Hochstetter, 
Seiter Fischer, Abersold, Richard, and Sterchi. 

One or two cottage-looking houses are kept as shops, and 
the little articles of Swiss wood-carving sold here are perfect 
in their way. 

Unterseen, like Interlacken, as the name of each implies, 
lies about midway between the lakes of Brienz and Thun, 
but nearer to the latter than its Anglicised neighbour. 
With its goats and goatherds, its old-fashioned wooden 
houses brown with age, and one thousand rustic inhabitants, 
it presents the aspect of a thoroughly Swiss village. There 
is an inn here (the Kaufhas), and several cheap pensions, 
chiefly frequented by Germans. 

INTERLACKEN BY LAUTERBRUNNEN AND THE 
WENGERN-ALP TO GRINDELWALD. 

At its entrance from Interlacken, upon which it directly 
opens, the valley of Lauterbrunnen is formed by meadows 
and gently-rising hills, richly wooded and rounded at their 
summits. About a mile on the way, the traveller sees the 
old castle of Unspunnen. The ruins of this stronghold are 
so covered by copse-wood, that little more than the top of the 
central square tower can be seen. There is no door or gate 
by which it may be entered, and the curious must therefore 
clamber in by a small loophole. The Abendberg, one of the 
mountains seen from the lake of Thun, lies behind the old 
castle, and, covered with firs and bush nearly to its summit, 
rises to the height of about 5500 feet above the sea-level. 
On the southern declivity of the mountain the patient 
and philanthropic Dr. Guggenbiihl has established his in¬ 
stitution for the treatment of cretins. A little beyond Uns¬ 
punnen is the village of Wylderswyl, with about a hundred 
houses, built of materials for the most part taken from the 
ruins of the old castle. Cretinism prevails here in the vil¬ 
lage, and in the whole valley, to a considerable extent; and a 
stranger is painfully surprised at the indifference of parents 
and friends of cretins to the mental privation of their 
children, whom they will expose to visitors with the utmost 
levity, and find in the lamentable idiocy of their offspring 
frequent occasions of mirth. Just beyond Wylderswyl the 


INTERLACKEN BY LAUTERBRUNNEN. 


49 


scenery changes, and the road enters a wild and narrow 
gorge, reminding one of Salvator Rosa’s pictures, down 
which rushes the stream of the Lutschine. The hamlet of 
Gsteigwyler lies on the other side of the torrent, which is 
crossed here by one of the picturesque mountain bridges so 
frequently occurring in Switzerland. Before reaching Gs¬ 
teigwyler, the road passes the rock called Rothenfluth, for¬ 
merly crowned with the ancient chateau called the Balme of 
Rothenfluth. Beyond the bridge, to the right of the road, is 
seen a projecting rock, called, indifferently, the Bosestein 
(Rock of Crime) or Bruderstein (Brother’s Stone). An 
amateur of Swiss history had recorded the local tradition by 
engraving the folio-wing inscription on the stone :—“ Here the 
Baron Rothenfluth was killed by his brother. Compelled to 
fly his country, the murderer terminated his life in exile and 
despair, and was the last of his race, once so rich and 
powerful.” 

In the recent widening of the road this inscription has 
been “ improved off.” On the right a dark forest of pines 
extends along the mountain slope, and contrasts with naked 
and menacing rocks, while on the left the Lutschine rushes, 
growling over its stony bed. At Zweiliitschinen, a little 
hamlet, formed but of a few peasants’ houses and an auberge, 
the Black and White Liitschinen, whose united waters dash 
through the lower part of the valley, are seen in their divided 
channels. The first of these, a muddy torrent, is seen on 
the left, emerging from a narrow gorge, overhung with the 
huge cliffs of the Hunenfluh, which forms the entrance to 
the valley of Grindelwald. A carriage-road leads through 
the defile to the village of Grindelwald and the Wetterhorn; 
but every traveller who can walk should prefer the route 
thither by Lauterbrunnen, following for the present the 
White Lutschine. The mountain barriers now close in upon 
the main valleys, which henceforth have a rich ravine-like 
character, numberless rivulets falling down from the cliffs 
above 1000 feet in height, on either side, in threads of silver 
foam, and forming, indeed, what the name Lauterbrunnen 
implies, “ clear fountains.” Beyond this point the ascent is 
steep, the view on either side being bounded by the rocks, 
and in front by the Jungfrau. About an hour’s walking 
brings one to— 


r, 


LAUTERBRUNNEN. 


50 


LAUTERBRUNNEN, 

A village of some 1400 inhabitants, built in a very primitive 
style, on both banks of the Lutschine. The inn here is 
indifferent and dear ; a little precaution at starting renders 
one independent of its accommodation. Although placed at 
a height of about 2500 feet above the sea level, owing to 
the cliffs which overhang its valley, Lauterbrunnen enjoys 
the sun’s rays six hours less in the day than the plain 
of Interlacken below. The modest and dilapidated old 
church has the jambs of its doors and windows of grey 
marble, dug from the environs of the Sau torrent. A painted 
glass window represents the legend of Rodolphe of Stratt- 
lingen. The Archangel Michael, armed cap-a-pie, holds a 
sword in his right hand, and the balance in his left; Satan 
catches at one of the scales, in which is seen the spirit of 
the defunct monarch, imploring the Divine mercy, and trem¬ 
blingly awaiting the issue of the conflict. A monk in prayer 
is placed before the angel. Falls without number may be 
seen in this part of the valley. A quarter of an hour, 
however, suffices to reach the graceful Staubach, which sur¬ 
passes all the rest in beauty. The stream of the Staubach 
is scanty, even when the supply of water is good, and 
falling down from a rocky projection, 925 feet in height, it is 
blown into spray. Byron, in his Journal, likened it to the 
tail of the pale horse in the Book of Revelation. In verse 
he thus alludes to the Staubbach : 

“ It is not noon, the sunbow’s rays still arch 
The torrent with the many hues of heaven, 

And roll the sheeted silver’s waving column 
O’er the cross headlong perpendicular, 

And fling its lines of foaming light along, 

And to and fro, like the pale courser’s tail, 

The giant steed to be bestrode by Death, 

As told in the Apocalypse.”— Manfred. 

Goethe has the following verse : 

“ Strdmt von der hblien 
Steilen Felswamd 
Der reine Strahl 
Dann stiiubt er lieblich 
In Wolkenwellen 
Zum glatten Fels, 

Und leiclit empfangen 
Wallt er verschleiornd 
Lcis’ runscliend 
Zur Tiefe neider. ” 


LAUTERBRUNNEN. 


51 


Goethe’s simile of a veil is justified in a very striking 
manner, when the cascade is seen in foam. Ten in the 
morning is the best time for visiting the fall. When the 
brow of the rock is concealed by vapour, the stream seems 
actually to descend from the clouds. Then, 

“ Der Wandrer Sieht erstaunt in Himmel Strome bliessen. 

Die aus den Wolken fliehn und sich in Wolken giessen.” 

Two routes lead from the village of Lauterbrunnen to 
Grindelwald. By the first, or carriage-road, the distance is 
about eleven or twelve miles. To reach it the traveller must 
retrace his steps in the valley as far as to the bridge over the 
Zweilutschinen, just below the village of that name; and 
then, crossing the torrent, keep the northern bank of the 
Black Liitschine for about seven miles. A route, preferable 
by far for the healthy and robust, in fine weather, is the 
mule-track which leads from Lauterbrunnen over the Wen- 
gern-Alp, or Lesser Scheideck, as it is also called. If there 
be a series of prospects worth visiting, the Oberland, to 
behold it, is to be found on this the most elevated of all 
the routes of the Bernese country. The way may be 
about fourteen measured miles, but it is at least seven 
hours’ good walking, and may be travelled with perfect 
safety. 

The traveller starting from the Staubbach crosses the 
torrent, and enters upon a wooded hill almost as steep as a 
cliff. The path is one of the most zigzagged in all the 
Oberland. but is not badly made. After tracking up the 
ascent for about an hour, the traveller reaches a green 
upland slope, diversified with timber, and laid out in pas¬ 
turages, with chalets, and many of them with cottages at¬ 
tached. The holdings are so small, and the buildings so 
numerous, that the whole slope seems to form one wide¬ 
spread village. The cattle in these pastures are neat, 
clean-made, and small, not altogether unlike those of the 
Highlands of Scotland. The herdsmen hang a bell upon 
the neck of each animal; and the tinkling of some two or 
three hundred rustic bells, heard amidst a scene so perfectly 
rural, on a fine summer’s evening, has in it something very 
pleasing to an Englishman, reminding him of the meadows 
of his native land. The retrospective vieAV from this eleva¬ 
tion shows the valley of Lauterbrunnen, of dimensions ex- 


52 


LAUTERBRUNNEN. 


tremely reduced, and the Staubbach seems to be like a 
snowy wreath on its black rocky background. Beyond this 
plateau the path leads to the right of a lofty, perpendicular, 
cliffy range, which forms the eastern barrier of the upper 
valley of Lauterbrunnen, and courses the base of the Wen- 
gern Alp in a southern direction. About a mile and a half 
below the top of the pass, on the slope of the Wengem-Alp, 
and on the edge of the cliff which separates the Trumlethenthal 
from the Scheideck, is the inn called Hotel de la Jungfrau. 
The accommodations are of a simple character, but the view 
of the Jungfrau constitutes the staple attraction of the house, 
which stands directly opposite to the Queen of the Oberland. 
The height of the Jungfrau is 13,700 feet above the sea 
level; thus this is the fourth among Swiss, and the eighth 
among European mountains, Mont Blanc belonging to 
Savoy. 

The first ascent of the Jungfrau was made in 1822, 
by two young Swiss of Aarau, named Meyer. Professor 
Agassiz and Professor Forbes have since climbed its steep. 
The hotel is nearly 6000 feet above the sea level, and 
seems to a stranger to be wdthin a mile of the moun¬ 
tain. A row of benches is placed in front of the house, 
where, on a summer’s noon, one may sit for hours watching 
the avalanches which detach themselves every few minutes 
from the Jungfrau, and are precipitated into the Trum¬ 
lethenthal. At the moment when the avalanche leaves its 
parent glacier, a heavy dull sound is heard reverberating 
along the sides of the valley. In its passage through the 
air the mass loses its compactness, and shoots as if in a 
silvery cascade down to the depths of the gulf. The accu 
mulation of the fragments on the ground at the bottom 
causes a second report, more prolonged than the first, and 
this is followed by an appearance of mist arising from the 
depths of the valley. 

“ Opposite us, out of a horrid abyss, rises the Jungfrau 
in her icy robe. A frightful gulf, however, separates us 
from the mountain, and now securely we may sit and watch 
the vanishing avalanches which the sun’s rays hourly detach 
from her dazzling crest. The murmur of a distant thunder 
announces the fall of the mighty mass, which to the eye 
appears a mere snow ball which a child might throw.”— 
Zschokke. 


GRINDELWALD. 


53 


“ Ye toppling crags of ice. 

Ye avalanches, whom a breath draws down 
In mountainous overwhelming, come and crush me ! 

0 I hear ye momently above, beneath, 

Crush with a frequent conflict; but ye pass 
And only fall on things that still would live, 

On the young flourishing forests—the huts 
And hamlet of the harmless villages. 

The mists boil up around the glaciers; clouds 
Rise curling far beneath me, white and sulphurous. 

Like foam from the roused area of deep hell.”— Manfred. 

About an hour’s walking brings the traveller to the top of 
the Lesser Scheideck Pass, where a large building intended 
lor the accommodation of travellers has been erected. It 
cannot be depended on for accommodation, as its commercial 
success does not ensure it being kept open in every season. 
From this point the path descends, and a beautiful valley 
is seen spreading out to a vast extent, lying along the base 
of the great mountain-chain of the Bernese Oberland Alps, 
The mountains which enclose it present here a most mag¬ 
nificent aspect. The path lies through a number of pi ashy 
pastures, and reaches 

GRINDELWALD. 

During the season this village is often so full of visitors, 
that travellers are compelled to resort to private houses. 
The inns are—Bar on the west, Adler at the east end of 
the village. Grindelwald has a population of about 2000, 
and in aspect differs in no remarkable particulars from the 
majority of Bernese villages. In its valley immense rocks 
and colossal mountains rise, at the foot of which extend 
the glaciers, which are inferior to those of Rosenlaui, but 
being within easy distance of the habitations may be ob¬ 
served without risk or trouble, and are thus more visited 
than their rivals. The upper glacier, situated between the 
Wetterhorn and the Mettenberg, is 1 ^ league in length, 
full of rifts and crevasses, and has very pure ice pyramids 
of all kinds. The lower glacier, situated between Metten¬ 
berg and the Eigher, is the more interesting. It is a sea of 
ice, three leagues in length, terribly torn and cleft, and 
scattered with pyramids of a grotesque form. “ Scarcely 
three hundred years ago an open pass, several leagues in 


54 


ASCENT OF THE FAULHORN. 


length, led over the chain into the Valais, from which 
people came to the church of Grindelwald to celebrate 
baptisms and weddings. To-day all is covered with a wild 
and impassable sea of ice ”— Zschokke. 

In the seventeenth century the glacier increased in an 
extraordinary manner, and was no longer to be contained by 
its valley. Bursting its barriers, it carried away the dwellings 
which lay in its course, and destroyed the church of Petro- 
velle, the bell of which, cast in 1044, is yet in the church of 
Grindelwald. Tradition relates that at one time the Met- 
tenberg and Eighers formed but one mass, behind which was 
a lake of considerable size. 


ASCENT OF THE FAULHORN. 

The traveller who can make up his mind to a steep walk, 
will in fine weather be well rewarded for making the ascent 
of the Faulhorn. Before setting out he must understand 
that he should sleep at the top of the mountain : the chief 
object being to see the sun-rise from thence. The peak is 
8300 feet above the level of the sea. But as Grindelwald 
itself stands at a considerable elevation, he need not reckon 
upon having that height to climb. The walking may be 
rough, but the mountain air is clear and bracing, and ever 
and anon during the ascent he is encouraged by magnificent 
views of the neighbouring Alps. Having slept at Grindel¬ 
wald, the wisest plan is to rise very early, and having break¬ 
fasted, to set out slowly, alpenstock in hand, for the day’s 
task. He should not be too heavily clad, and if the Ober- 
land has been the scene of his first Swiss trip, and the ascent 
of the Faulhorn his first serious climb, it may be well to 
remind him that he should have good shoes, not too tight or 
too thin; and that if on the night before he start he send 
them to the Grindelwald inn-cobbler to be provided with a 
few nails, his excursion will be made all the better for it. 
The long alpenstocks, which look unnecessary to those who 
are just beginning a Swiss tour, will on the Faulhorn prove 
of real value. Repeating the suggestion to start slowly, and 
giving a hint also that in narrow passes and dangerous 
places it is well to stand still when desirous of contem¬ 
plating a view, we may add that it is always better to form 


ASCENT OF THE FAULHOHN. 


55 


a party, if practicable, as the services of a guide, although 
not absolutely indispensable, are of much value. 

About half way up the mountain there is a rude chalet, 
where the traveller may refresh himself with milk and 
bread and cheese, and when he has climbed to the top, pass - 
ing on his way numberless views, in which all the features 
of Alpine scenery are combined, he will be quite ready to do 
justice to the dinner, which is obtainable at the rude inn. 
The accommodations on the summit of the Faulhorn are very 
poor indeed. During the winter months the place is shut 
up, as no human being could live there. The company en¬ 
countered by the tourist is of a very miscellaneous character. 
German students, English and French gentlemen, travelling 
Americans, and Russian noblemen, enter into the composi¬ 
tion of the groups which meet round the deal table in a sort of 
kitchen, which forms the only salle a manger of the establish¬ 
ment. The bed-rooms are small and crowded with beds, 
which are, at times, as crowded as the house. It must not 
be supposed that accommodations are to be obtained here 
comparable to those on the Rhigi; still there is a certain 
amount of satisfactory entertainment: food and wine, which 
would be rejected in the valleys, are relished here, after the 
long walk; and the very crowding of the house has this ad¬ 
vantage, that the travellers help to keep each other warm in 
this stone-cabin up amongst the snows. As night draws on 
it becomes bitterly cold, and the Alpine horn which calls up 
the traveller in the darkness of morning to see the sun rise 
is not always welcome; but having mounted to the top of the 
Faulhorn, he must be more than ordinarily a sluggard who 
would not turn out, even under these discomforts, to meet 
the reward of the ascent,—the marvellous prospect unfolded 
as the first rays of light glide on the edge of the horizon. 
The spectator seems to stand upon a rocky promontory, a 
thousand feet below which the white clouds lie like boundless 
hillocks of snow, or rather like the frozen billows of some 
arctic sea. The upper edges of them are first lighted by the 
rising sun, which soon gives to each a warmer, rosy tint. 
The peaks of the surrounding Alps are brightened in the 
same way, whilst their bases are hidden by the clouds: as 
the sun rises higher, the influence of its rays is shown by 
the dissipation of the vapours and rents, as it were, being 
formed in these billowy clouds ; through them is seen, 


3t$ 


GRINDELWALD TO MEYBINGEN, 


thousands of feet below, the lower world of lake and valley and 
river. The gazer sees for a while, as it were, three stages of 
the world. Rugged and apparently isolated, the rock on which 
he stands is 8000 feet above the sea; perhaps 2000 feet lower, 
this world of cloud we have sought to describe; and through 
this, thousands of feet lower, the valley from which he over¬ 
night came up hither. Less than half-an-hour is enough to 
include the horn-sounding that calls him from his bed, the 
scramble into his clothes and on to the peak; the sun rise, 
and the view; and the dissipation by the sun’s rays of the 
bulk of the clouds. When these are gone the tourist has a 
magnificent panoramic view; having enjoyed which it only 
remains for him to get his breakfast, and commence the 
descent. But if he be fortunate in the weather, that half- 
hour repays all the labour it has cost, and stores his memory 
with a recollection which will endure for life. The walk 
down from the Faulhorn is, of course, accomplished in less 
time than the ascent; as the traveller descends into the 
clouds, he becomes unpleasantly aware that they are much 
better to look at than to be in. On these heights you fre¬ 
quently pass from sunshiny August into foggy October on 
different parts of the same mountain. 

From the Faulhorn, a path leads to the Giessbach on the 
Brienzer-See. 

It is not desirable to return to Grindelwald, but to pass 
over the greater Scheideek by Rosenlaui to Meyringen in 
the vale of Flasli. 

GRINDELWALD TO MEYRINGEN, OYER THE 
GREAT SCHEIDECK. 

This route is eight stunden, or about eighteen miles in 
length, and can only be travelled by the pedestrian and 
horseman. About three miles up the valley, a little to 
the right of the Meyringen track, is the Upper Glacier of 
Grindelwald. There is a little lake of crystal water at its 
margin, in which the mountains and sky are reflected with 
wonderful depth and beauty. A blithe old man who shows 
this glacier is sure to be found here, and to inform the tourist 
that he had twenty-four children by his first wife, and four¬ 
teen by the second. In 1851 there was a cavern in the 
glacier, a deep crystal ravine, high enough to advance with¬ 
out touching the pointed roof, winding quite a distance into 


OVER THE GREAT SCHEIDECK, 


57 


tlie body of the glacier, whose superincumbent mountain 
masses must one day crush it. The ice-walls are of an 
exquisite and almost transparent azure, smooth as glass, and 
dripping with water. It is this rich colour of the ice which 
makes these glaciers so much more beautiful than those of 
Chamouni; at the same time that these peaks and minarets 
are so varied, their depths are enormous, and the step from 
them into the depths of an intense summer verdure so sudden 
and startling. 

From Grinclelwald to the top of the Scheideck is a good 
third of the journey to Meyringen. On the traveller’s right, 
at every point of the way, the stupendous Wetterhorn, or 
Storm-peak, rises in a bare wall apparently close to the 
path ; from which, however, its base is distant a good quarter 
of an hour’s walk. The ground is by no means difficult. 
From the height of the Great Scheideck the glacier is a 
most magnificent object, as are also the mountain barriers 
which enclose it. Avalanches occasionally descend from the 
Wetterhorn : there is, first, a sudden jet from the mountain, 
like a rocket of white smoke; then the fall of the whole mass 
of ice and snoAV, with a cloud rising from it, and a rush of 
small thunder, like the roar of a waterfall. There is a 
cow-shed on the top of this pass, which has lately been im¬ 
proved into a rude lodge; it now contains a couple of beds, 
and affords the usual Alpine fare for passing guests. 

From the Grand Scheideck, down into the valley of Hash, 
at Meyringen, the journey is one of exceeding magnificence. 
It is true that the prospect before the traveller, as he passes 
down towards Rosenlaui, is not so remarkable for grandeur 
as the scenes he has already passed through; but behind 
him, in the evening sun, the way is a lengthening perspec¬ 
tive of beauty, where the snowy mountains, seen through 
the forests of firs, and overhanging them, floating as it were 
in the golden light, give to the eye a wonderful vision of 
contrasts and splendours. 

The way to Meyringen from the Scheideck leads by a 
small reddish-looking lake, about ten minutes’ distance from 
the top, passing some chalets; half an hour further on, 
over the bridge of the Gemsbach just beyond them, and a 
quarter of an hour beyond this, attaining Schwarzwald, with 
its dear inn on the Schwarzald. Here the path divides; one 
track leads on to the left bank of the Reichenbach to Sage 


58 


GRIND ELWALD TO MEYRINGEN, 


(three miles), the other brings the traveller by the right hank 
of the Reichenbach, at a distance of about two miles from 
Schwarzwald to Rosenlauibad, or the baths of Rosenlaui. 
Before reaching the baths, however, a foot-path to the right 
leads to the glacier of Rosenlaui, so denominated from the 
extreme beauty of its roseate and azure colours. It lies on 
a mighty mountain gorge, far up between the great masses 
of the Wellborn and Engelhorner, or Angels’ peaks; the 
ice-born picture, its fir-clad base, and its gigantic craggy 
frame, forming a most remarkable scene. In summer a 
thundering torrent comes roaring down an almost fathom¬ 
less rent in the mountain, whose jagged sides look like the 
yawning jaws of some monstrous savage. Torrents from 
different directions meet fiercely at the foot of the glacier, 
which is thrown over them as a mountain of ice, with vast 
ice-blocks roofing the subterranean fissure, with a mighty 
peak of rock towering above, and a mountain of granite on 
the other side. The traveller may enter the bosom of the 
glacier, by steps cut in the ice by the guide, at the risk of 
tumbling into the conflict of waters below. The surrounding 
forests of fir, the ice-cliffs shining, and the grey bare cross 
keeping watch like sentinels, together with the extreme 
picturesqueness and beauty of the valley opening out be¬ 
neath, make up a scene well worth the toil of climbing to it. 

The Baths of Rosenlaui, the name by which a few tubs at 
the Steinbach inn are magnified, are about half-an-hour’s 
walk from the glacier. A mineral spring which rises here 
is supposed to have some medicinal properties, but it is not 
in very great request. There are some very pretty carved 
gemsen or chamois sold at this house. Behind the Stein¬ 
bach the Reichenbach springs impetuously from a rock, and 
the path follows for some distance the course of its torrent. 
The retrospect on the road from Rosenlaui to Meyringen is 
exceedingly beautiful, owing to the peculiar combination 
between the snow, the sun, and the black fir forest; the 
first show against the snow, the snow against the sun, and 
the air seems a flood of glory. Between four o'clock and 
sunset this Rosenlaui pass, in a bright day, is wonderful: 
the white perfect cones and pyramids of some of the sum¬ 
mits alternate with the bare rocky needles and ridges of 
others, all distinctly defined against the sky, ivitli the light 
falling on them in a wild, magic, azure-tinted clearness. 


OVER THE GREAT SCHEIDECK. 


59 


Here is one section or quadrature of the picture, as you 
look upwards to the heights down which you have been so 
long descending ; far off, up in the heavens, a vast curling 
ridge of snow cuts the azure; nearer the enormous grey peak 
of the Wellhorn shoots above it; lower, towards the world, 
between two great mountains, down rushes the magnificent 
glacier of Rosenlaui, till its glittering masses are lost to the 
eye beyond the green depths of the forest. 

We descend beside the roaring torrent, which is im¬ 
petuously plunging and foaming to take the leap of the 
Reichenbach, when suddenly comes another of those swift vast 
contrasts, those mighty shiftings of scenery, so unexpected 
and unthought of, as in a dream. As if the world’s walls 
had opened, the vale of Meyringen is disclosed far beneath, 
with its villages and meadows, church-steeples and clumps 
of trees, and the bright Alpbach cascade pouring over the 
crags on the other side. From this point the descent into 
the valley is nearly two thousand feet, rugged and precipitous; 
and from nearly this level, the Reichenbach torrent takes 
its grand leap down a gorge to the left of the path, making 
the celebrated Reichenbach Falls. Afterwards, by a suc¬ 
cession of leaps not quite so grand, it races, foams, and 
thunders over precipice after precipice, through black, jagged, 
picturesque, tortuous ravines, down into the valley, to join 
the Aar. 

About a mile and a half from the last fall, and on the 
right bank of the Aar, is the village of Meyringen, con¬ 
taining 80 houses and 1000 inhabitants. There are three 
inns—the Wilde Mann and the Krone, both good; and the 
Landhaus, dear. The view of the Reichenbach Falls, the 
Engelhorner, the snow-clad Wetterhorn, and the Rosenlaui 
glacier, seen from the balcony of the Wilde Mann, is very 
charming. In Switzerland the Hash Vale, of which Mey¬ 
ringen is the capital, is reckoned a perfect model of an 
alpine valley. The climate is soft; the view takes in num¬ 
berless hamlets, waterfalls, the hills clad with verdure, 
glaciers, and the snow-clad mountains. The inhabitants of 
the Hasli valley, it has been repeatedly noticed, have a finer 
organisation, more personal beauty, and a more melodious 
dialect, than those of any other part of Switzerland. Escher, 
following the tradition preserved in a bardic composition, 
called the “ Song of the East Frieslanders,” relates that their 


CO GRINDELWALD TO MEYRINGEN, 

ancestors migrated hither from a boreal region between 
Sweden and Friesland. A famine came upon the land, and 
the elders of the people assembled to take counsel upon the 
emergency. It was resolved that one man in every ten, to 
be designated by lot, should emigrate. “ Thus,” says the 
poem, “ our fathers came forth from the north country, 
their friends lamenting as they went ; and the mothers 
leading their infant children. Six thousand giant warriors 
were they, divided into three bands, each man with his 
wife and children, his store and his stuff. They took an 
oath to stand by one another to the death. They had many 
moveables, and by their valorous arms defeated Count Peter 
of Franconia, who said that they should never pass the 
river. Then they prayed to God to give them a land like 
that which they had left, where they might pasture their 
cattle in peace without let from the malicious, and He led 
them into Brochenburg, where they founded Schwytz. Then 
the people waxed strong and multiplied, and there was no 
room for them in the valley, though they worked lustily, 
and cleared the pines of the forests. So a part of the 
multitude went into the country on the Black Mountain 
(Brunig in Unterwald), and another part into Weitzland 
(Ober Hasli), and afterwards their children spread over 
other parts of the Oberland into Frutigen Obersiebenthal, 
Saaven, Afflentsch, and Jaun (Bellegarde) : but beyond 
Jaun is another race.” 

The vale of Hasli is washed throughout its length by 
the torrent of the Aar, which comes thundering down as a 
mighty stream from the Grinsel, and is increased in volume 
by numberless streams which melt from neighbouring gla¬ 
ciers. The lower part of the valley, of which Meyringen is 
the chief place (1818 feet above the sea level), is perpetually 
exposed to the devastating overflow of the Aar, and inunda¬ 
tions by these glacier streams. The most mischievous of 
these is the Alpbach, which pours down a mass of water close 
to the village of Meyringen. The only outlet of the valley 
is on the north-west, for all the lateral valleys lead to the 
snow-covered mountains. These lateral valleys are the 
Urbachthal on the west, and the Miihlethal on the south-east, 
which again divides into the Nesselthal, the Gadmenthal, 
and the Genteltbal. Above Meyringen, the chief valley is 
interrupted by a low mountain, the Kerchet, through which the 


OVER THE GREAT SCHEIDECK. 


61 


Aar has pierced for itself a passage. Another cleft is shown, 
through which the Aar formerly poured its waters, and traces 
are yet extant of the lake which it must have formed before 
it could have forced for itself an outlet. Here properly be¬ 
gins the Upper Haslithal, a name, however, which is often 
applied to the whole valley. The mountains on both sides 
of the valley are very steep, and in many places all but 
perpendicular; hence the numberless fine waterfalls which 
everywhere meet the eye, and heighten the enchantment of 
the region. The ground, where not rendered marshy or 
covered with debris by repeated inundations, is very fruitful. 
Meadows are mown four times in the year, and potatoes are 
cultivated on the slopes, even to a considerable height. In 
the Miihlethal and Nessenthal cherries and pears, and in the 
lower districts apricots and other wall-fruits, attain great 
perfection. The south wind blow r s gently, and adds to the 
agreeableness of the climate; but, at the same time, promotes 
the inundation of the valley through the melting of the snows 
and glaciers. Several parts of the Haslithal are, moreover, 
visited by avalanches. 

The distance from Meyringen to the Grimsel-Pass is about 
eighteen miles, and takes eight hours walking. A bridle - 
road crosses the Aar at the village, and is continued on the 
right bank through a picturesque, broken-wooded vale, with 
many romantic side-openings. Here we encounter the 
Kerchet, at which the path leaves the river, and ascends the 
steep side of the hill in many a zigzag, scarcely less bold 
than those of the Wengern-Alp going from Lauterbrunnen. 
On the other side of the mountain lies a hollow, inclosed on 
every side by hills. It is supposed to have contained the 
lake, which, bursting through the thicket, forced an outlet 
for the Aar. The road passes the entrances of the valleys 
of Urbach and Gadmen, which lead out of this basin, and 
bring the traveller to Grund. 

The village of Grund, consists only of a few houses, near 
which stand the remains of a former smelting furnace; the 
works are now carried on at Miihlethal. From Grund to 
Guttanen the way is rough, and often covered with frag¬ 
ments of rock which have fallen down from the mountains ; 
an evil which here and there makes whole pastures desolate, 
snatching entire fields from the culture of man. Traces of 
humanity now grow fewer and more scanty; now and then 


62 


GRINDELWALD TO MEYRINGEN, ETC. 


are seen the ruins of a chalet, which an avalanche has de¬ 
stroyed. Nothing breaks the silence of the place but the 
falling of some torrent over the steep rocky walls. Gut- 
tanen lies in a very wild and narrow valley, surrounded 
with crags and clitfs. It is an entrepot for the humble 
commerce of the Valais, from which the inhabitants of the 
Haslithal send yearly a quantity of cheeses to Italy, receive 
ing in return wine and rice from the Eschenthal. In sum¬ 
mer the traveller may happen to encounter the pack-mules, 
by whose aid this trade is carried on. The dreary precur¬ 
sors of eternal winter, which reigns higher up the valley, now 
present themselves on evei'y hand. 

We come suddenly upon the celebrated Handek Falls of 
the Aar. There is a point on which they are visible from 
the verge of the gorge below, before arriving at Handek, 
but it is by no means so good as the points of view above. 
These points are very accessible, and from a bridge thrown 
directly over the main fall you may look down into the abyss 
where the cataract crashes. A storm of wind and rain rushes 
furiously up from the spray, but when the sun is shining it 
is well worth a thorough wetting to behold the exquisitely 
beautiful rainbows which circle the fall beneath. A side- 
torrent comes down from another ravine on the right, meet¬ 
ing the Aar Fall diagonally, after a magnificent leap by itself 
over the precipice, so that the cataract is two in one. The 
height of the fall being about two hundred feet, when the 
Aar is swollen by rain this must be by far the grandest and 
most beautiful cataract in Switzerland. The lonely sublimity 
of the scenery makes the astounding din and fury of the 
waters doubly impressive. 

A short distance from the falls, a single chalet, which 
itself is the inn, constitutes the whole village of Handek. 
From this place up to the Grimsel the pass increases, if pos¬ 
sible, in wildness and desolation. Vegetation almost entirely 
ceases. The fir, satisfied with so little of earth, can no more 
find a footing. Gloomy bare mountains, silent and naked as 
death, frown over the pathway, and you seem to be coming 
to the outermost limits of creation. 

The path crosses a singular, vast, smooth ledge of rock, 
called the Hollenplatte, nearly a quarter of a mile in extent, 
about two miles above the Falls, said to have been the bed 
of an old glacier, and to have become worn smooth and 


THE GRIMSEL BY THE RH6nE -GLACIER, ETC. 63 

polished by the attrition of the ice-mountain. The path is 
hewn along the edge of the precipice. A pedestrian, having 
no care of a mule, is comparatively independent of its dan¬ 
gers, though he would not wish to cross this place in a tem¬ 
pest. A traveller, whose mule slipped here and fell over the 
precipice, was saved only by the presence of mind and sudden 
firm grasp of his guide, dragging him backwards, even while 
the mule plunged down the abyss. 

Presently the path crosses the Aar, and recrosses, and 
at length leaves it on the left, to seek the Hospice of the 
Grimsel. Vegetation seems annihilated; but amidst all this 
frightful sterility the traveller may sometimes behold, upon 
a rocky shelf far up the side of an almost perpendicular 
mountain, a man mowing. 

THE GRIMSEL, BY THE RHONE GLACIER, AND 
FURCA TO THE ST. GOTHARD. 

The Hospice of the Grimsel stands about 800 feet below 
the summit of the Pass. Berne being a Protestant canton 
there is no religious community attached to the establish¬ 
ment, which has long been, for all practical purposes, an inn. 
It is a rough, strong, rock building, with few windows, and 
looks like a gaol, a Spanish monastery, or a hospital for the 
insane. Its entourage is the most dreary in all Switzerland. 
On all sides and above it is frowned upon by shapeless 
mountains, covered with ice and snow. Its elevation above 
the sea is more than 7000 feet, and the peaks rise above to 
the height of another thousand. 

Within the building, however, everything is neat and com¬ 
fortable ; there are a little library, enriched chiefly by English 
travellers, with some good books, a well-furnished refectory 
and abundant table, eighty beds or more, and everything in 
excellent order. In the height of the season, the number of 
visitors daily at table is from thirty-six to forty. An excur¬ 
sionist recently met here one hundred persons at once, who 
stopped for the night, with half as many guides in addition. 

“ We sat down, about twenty visitors in all, to a plentiful 
evening meal, with a cup of tea, most refreshing to such a 
tired traveller as I was. I liked mine host at the Grimsel; 
he seemed to take a fatherly interest in the stranger, and 


64 


THE GEIMSEL, 

pressed my hand warmly at parting, with many good wishes 
for my pleasant journey. How it takes away from the mer¬ 
cantile, cold, mercenary character of an inn, when the keeper 
of it is blessed with cordial, hospitable manners ! Whether 
he have the heart of a good Samaritan or not, if he seems to 
take an interest in you, he gets double interest from you ; it 
invests the bought fare with a home feeling; you pay for it 
ten times as readily as you would to a grumbler, and you 
leave the house as that of a friend.”—G. B. C. 

“ There is a little tarn, or black lake, directly behind the 
Hospice, black, grim, stagnant—a fit mirror of the desolation 
around it. No fish live in it, but it is said to be never frozen 
though covered deep with snow all winter. A boat like 
Charon’s crosses it to get at the bit of green pasture beyond, 
where the cows of the Hospice may be fed and milked for 
one or two months in the summer. 

“ Last night, as we left our little chamber to retire to rest, 
we found the sky so wonderfully clear, that the smallest 
stars shone out with a brilliancy unknown to the lower 
country. The milky way appeared of an extraordinary bril¬ 
liancy, which I could only ascribe to the finer air of this 
elevated spot, which is filled with less vapour than at a 
lower level. 

“This morning we sallied out to inspect the strange world 
into which we had climbed. The greater part of the valley 
was yet covered with snow-, and, at almost every step, showed 
us some feature of a Spitzbergen landscape. Scarcely, how¬ 
ever, had we walked a few steps, than we were surprised to 
find that, where the snow had begun to melt, the earth was 
sending forth young shoots of vegetation from her surface. 
Thus, hard by the snow we saw the young leaves of the 
veratrum album, a little further on plants of the same 
species had strong stalks, and at a greater distance the 
ground was adorned with flowers ; thus presenting us with a 
picture of spring, summer, and autumn. Often we could 
plant one foot in deep snow, while the other was buried 
amid auriculas, violets, and the like. We climbed a small 
rock near the Hospice to see the garden of our host, and 
found there lettuce, turnips, and mangold-wurzel. From 
this place we could see the two lakes which lie behind the 
Hospice, and are united by a little strait. Their water 
appeared blackish, and being surrounded with naked rocks, 


THE GRIMSEL HOSPICE. 


65 


they had a melancholy aspect. A small brook flows out of 
them, runs through the building, and falls into the Aar. 
Ascending to the highest stage of the pass we could see both 
sides of the mountain boundary which divides Berne from 
Valais. Here the region puts on its wildest aspect, and 
reminded me so strongly of Greenland that I almost ex¬ 
pected to see white bears, wolves, and rein-deer make their 
appearance. On our left, at a short distance, we saAv the 
Todten-See, or Lake of the Dead, which was almost entirely 
frozen over, and in some places was covered with snow. 
The prospect was terribly sublime : a thousand high moun¬ 
tains lay before us, and between them the inexhaustible 
stores of ice, whence are supplied the greatest rivers of 
Europe. Before us the Furca proudly raises its ice-crowned 
head, and looks with contempt upon the berge below; then, 
at a greater distance, is the nest of the Gothard. Bight in 
front of us, at mid-day, we could see the Griesberg, and 
caught a glimpse of its ice-rift, through which the road to 
the Escbenthal is carried. Further on, to the S.W., was the 
Simplon.”— Wyttenbach. 

The Hospice of the Grimsel is tenanted from March to 
November by only a single servant, with provisions and dogs. 
In March, 1838, this solitary exile Avas alarmed by a myste¬ 
rious sound in the evening, like the Availing ol a human 
being in distress. He took his dog and went forth seeking 
the traveller, imagining that some one had lost his Avay in the 
snow. It was one of those warning voices, supposed by the 
Alpine dAvellers to be uttered by the mountains in presage 
of impending storms or dread convulsions. It was heard 
again in the morning, and soon afterwards down thundered 
the avalanche, overAvbelming the Hospice, and crushing 
every room save the one occupied by the servant. With 
his clog he Avorked his Avay through the snow, thankful not 
to have been buried alive, and came in safety down to Mey- 
ringen. 

Miss Lamont, in her “ Letters,” tells the story differently : 
she says, that “ the lonely tenant of the Hospice occupied 
himself all winter with his art of wood-carving, having no 
companions but his dogs, and was able, during the perilous 
seasons, to save the lives of nearly a hundred persons every 
year. He said he heard the supernatural voice -several 
times before the fall of the avalanche, It Avas a great storm, 

F 


06 FROM THE GRIMSEL BY THE RHONE-GLACIER 

and for four clays snowed incessantly. "When he first took 
out his dog, it showed symptoms of fear; at last it would 
not go out at all: so when he had the third time heard the 
low voice, which said, ‘ Go into the inner room,’ he went in 
greatly frightened, and knelt down to pray. While he was 
praying the avalanche fell, and in a moment every place, 
except the one little room where he was, was filled with 
snow.” 

The natural horrors of the Grimsel have been deepened by 
the combats of the French and Austrians. In the month of 
August, 1799, the former were led hither from the village of 
Guttannen, through the valley filled by the glaciers of 
Ghelmen, to surprise the Austrians, then occupying the 
Grimsel. About 200 men perished. 

The vast glaciers in which originates the stream of the Aar, 
called respectively the Ober, and Unter, Aar-Gletscher, are 
best visited from the Grimsel. The lower glacier may be 
reached in about three-quarters of an hour’s walking, by a 
path which, though not good, is without danger. 

The termination of the glacier in the valley, unlike that of 
Rosenlaui, is of the colour of a rhinoceros’ hide, from the 
mixture of rocks and gravel ground up in the ice; and 
where the river runs out of its mouth, it gives a person 
standing below its huge masses the idea of a monstrous 
elephant disporting with his proboscis. The rocks protrude 
from the ice, constantly dropping as fast as it melts, and 
forming chaotic masses of fragments beneath. This enor¬ 
mous glacier is said to be eighteen miles long, and from two 
to four in breadth. The great peak of the Finster-Aarhorn, 
the Aar-peak of Darkness, rises out of it, probably the 
loftiest of the Oberland Alps—a most sublime object. This 
is the glacier so interesting for the studies and observations 
of Agassiz and Hugi, carried on upon it, and for their hotel 
under a huge rock upon its surface. Hugi, in 1827, built 
on it his hut, to measure the movement of the masses, and 
it was found that in 1836 they had advanced 2184 feet. The 
bed of ice is nearly 80 square miles in extent, and how many 
hundred feet deep no man may know, constantly moving alto¬ 
gether with the motion of life amidst the rigidity of death. 
It is crossed by the Upper Glacier, the two throwing up 
between them a mighty causeway or running ridge of 
mingled ice and rocks, sometimes 80 feet high. The Upper 


AND FURCA TASS TO THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD. 07 

and Lower Glaciers together are computed to occupy a space 
of nearly 125 square miles. They are not so much split 
into fissures as the glaciers of Chamouny, and therefore 
they are much more accessible. 

The distance from the Hospice to the Rhone glacier is 
about six miles. The journey, though lying along a mule- 
road, should be performed in company with a guide. About 
three-quarters of an hour’s walking up a tolerable path brings 
one to the top of the pass, where, at a height of 8400 feet 
above the sea level, the way coasts the left margin of a little 
dark, still lake, into which the bodies of dead travellers, who 
perished by the way, have been launched for burial. It 
therefore goes by the name of the Dead Sea, or Lake of the 
Dead. These names are singularly in keeping with the 
effect of the scenery upon the mind, so wild, so grim, yet so 
majestic, so seemingly upon the confines of the supernatural 
world. A small glacier which you have to cross falls into 
this lake, and feeds it, and the peak of the Seidelhorn rises 
above it, with the snowy Schreckhorn towering through the 
mountain ridges from the Aar glacier. The magnificent 
white range of the Gries glacier sweeps glittering on the 
other side. 

Beyond the Lake of the Dead the path becomes slippery, 
and leads down a steep declivity. A little distance beyond 
the lake you come suddenly upon the view of the glacier of 
the Rhone, very far below you—a grand and mighty object, 
with the furious Rhone itself issuing from the ice, and then 
leaping, dashing, thundering, foaming through the valley. 
The glacier is a stupendous mass of ice terraces clear across 
the valley, propped against an overhanging mountain, with 
snowy peaks towering to the right and left. There is a 
most striking contrast between the bare desolation of the 
rocks on the Grimsel side, and the grassy slopes of the 
mountains in companionship with this glacier. The path 
here coasts along its margin, amidst a thick fringe of bushes 
and flowers, from which one can step down upon the roofs 
and walls of the ice-caverns, and look into the azure crevasses, 
and hear the fall, the gurgle, and hurrying sub-glacial rush 
of unconscious streams just born as cold as death. Far 
above it herds of cattle are seen browsing on the steep 
mountain-side, so steep that it seems as if they must hold 
on to the herbage to keep from falling. The voices of the 


(38 FROM THE GRIMSEL BY THE RHONE-GIACIER 

herdsmen echo down the valley; and it seems as if the 
whole group might at any moment slide, like an avalanche, 
down into the glacier below. 

There are, properly speaking, two glaciers of the Rhone, 
for as you pass up towards the Furca you see a rapid 
stream rushing from a glacier that cuts the sky above you 
to the right, and pouring, cavernous and cataractical, into 
the Lower Glacier, from whence it afterwards issues in the 
same stream which constitutes the Rhone. 

One of the worst specimens of a Swiss innkeeper waits for 
travellers in a house at the foot of the hill, and lives by 
taking advantage of rather than relieving their necessities. 

From the pass of the Furca, which costs a hard climb to 
surmount, there is a grand and varied view of the Fins- 
ter-Aarhorn and the Schreckhom, with the more distant 
snowy mountains. From thence into the valley of the Sidli 
Alp the path rapidly descends, and leads over wide, steep 
fields of ice and snow, down which experienced Alpine pe¬ 
destrians find an exciting and dangerous delight in flying 
with the Alpenstocks. 

From the Rhone glacier to the summit of the Furca 
valley is about two stunde. The traveller keeping the east 
side of the valley has the glacier on bis left for some dis¬ 
tance. The path then turns to the right, and enters a wild¬ 
looking treeless defile, where the only traces of human habi¬ 
tations to be met with are a few goatherds’ huts. 

On the Furca pass is the boundary between the cantons 
Yalais and Uri, and within a circle of little more than ten 
miles around are the sources of five prominent rivers, some 
of them among the largest in Europe: the Rhine, the 
Rhone, the Reuss, the Ticino, and the Aar, some tumbling 
into the Mediterranean, some into the German Sea. The 
traveller lias passed two of their most remarkable feeding 
glaciers, those of the Rhone and the Aar. The Furca is 
about 8200 feet above the sea-level, and in fine weather 
commands a fine view of the Oberland range, which is seen 
on the side exactly opposite that discerned from the Minster 
platform at Berne. Goethe passed over here in 1779, as 
late in the year as November. “ After a march of about 
three hours and a half we reached the saddle of the Furca, 
near the cross which marks the boundary of Valais and 
Uri. Even here we could not discern the forked peak from 


AND FURCA PASS TO THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD. 69 

which the Furca takes its name. A vulture, or lammer- 
geyer, swept over our heads with incredible rapidity ; it was 
the only living thing we had seen in all this waste. In the 
distance we could see the mountains of Ursi lighted up with 
bright sunshine. The guides wanted to enter a shepherd’s 
hut which had been abandoned and snowed up, and take 
something to eat, but we urged them onwards, fearing to 
stand still in the cold.” 

Descending the Furca, on the Uri side, the path leads 
frequently along the verges of dangerous banks ; the country 
is devoid of trees, the grass is stunted and short, and no 
human abode is met with until the traveller comes to 
Realp, about midway between Furca and Hospital, a little 
hamlet, consisting of four or five houses and a convent. 
“We were received at the door by one of the fathers, who, 
with much friendliness of manner, invited us to enter, and 
at the threshold begged that we would put up with such en¬ 
tertainment as they could alone offer. As to our meat, he 
said, we must be indulgent, for they were in the middle of 
a long fast, which would continue till Christmas-day. ‘ We 
have not,’ he said, ‘ an hospice like the fathers on Mount 
St. Gothard, but are here in the capacity of parish priests.’ 
He went on to describe their hardships and toils here at the 
furthest end of a lonely valley. This spot, like all others, 
was formerly provided with a secular priest, but an ava¬ 
lanche having buried half the village, the last one had run 
away and taken the pix with him; whereupon he was sus¬ 
pended, and they, of whom more resignation was expected, 
had been sent here in his stead." 

Hospital (inn, Goldener Lowe), about three miles beyond 
Realp, is a village of about twenty-five houses and a church. 
There is now no hospice here; that from which the place 
takes its name, and which was founded in the thirteenth 
century for travellers passing the St. Gothard, has long 
since disappeared. A tower, seen on a hill close to the 
village, was formerly the seat of the knightly family of 
Ospenthal, a noble race now extinct. 

At Hospital the traveller is fairly in the valley of the 
Reuss. In this valley the whole canton of Uri may be said 
to be comprised, having the little plain of Ursern (in the 
midst of which Hospital stands) for its head, and the lower 
end expanding into another little plain between Altorf and the 


70 FROM THE GRIMSEL BY THE RH6NE-GLACIER 

Lake of Uri. The Reuss is a remarkable river from its ex¬ 
traordinary rapidity, far greater than that of the Rhone, and 
from the fine scenery which is to he found on its banks. 
The entire course of the river from the Yale of Ursern till 
it falls into the Lake of Lucerne is a series of cataracts, 
and in the space of twelve miles its slope is 2500 feet. 

In the canton of Uri the peach and melon ripen in its 
orchards, and a breath of Italy seems to find its way down 
through the pass of the St. Gothard and up the valley of 
the Reuss. The houses lie scattered up and down on the 
slopes, hut in summer the people mostly live on the higher 
Alps with their stock, and only descend as the cold season 
approaches. About St. Gothard you begin to hear Italian 
dialects, to meet more sparkling eyes and sharply-cut fea¬ 
tures. Athletic sports are in great popularity here, as in 
most of the pastoral cantons. The goat and cow herds on 
the mountains have their wrestling-matches, their foot-races, 
games with the sling, &c., and their daily occupations fur¬ 
nish them with frequent occasions of exhibiting feats of 
strength, in which they delight. Accustomed to cany down 
from the High Alps the produce of their dairies, they will 
hear great piles of cheese and enormous bundles of hay 
down slippery paths, and safely find their way with their 
burdens along the brink of precipices through rains and fog. 
The fleet and nimble chamois is still frequently seen in 
the loftier Alps, in the neighbourhood of glaciers and eternal 
snows. Its pursuit puts the strength and agility of the 
hunter to a severe test, as he must climb lofty crags and 
keep his footing on the giddiest precipices, on ledges scarcely 
broader than his hand ; he must cross fields of ice and leap 
fearful chasms ; must endure hunger and thirst for days and 
nights together, and sometimes, after all, return bootlesshome. 
Many a fine bold fellow is lost, and many an anxious hour is 
passed in the cottage when the father or husband is absent 
with his rifle. Great-grandfather, grandfather, and father 
have perished in the pursuit of the chamois, and still the 
son takes up the chase. An irresistible fascination, and not 
a love of gain, seems to draw the mountaineers towards this 
mode of life, for the chamois is worth but about seventeen 
shillings when secured. 

The plain of Ursen, in which Hospital stands, is one of 
the highest inhabited vales in Switzerland, 4356 feet above 


AND FURCA PASS TO THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD. 71 

the level of the sea, perfectly destitute of trees, yet covered 
with soft green pasturage, and affording subsistence to four 
dairy-keeping, cattle-rearing, cheese-making villages, with 
1360 inhabitants. The Hospice of the St. Gothard lies a 
couple of hours farther up the pass, from whence the road 
leads down by innumerable zigzags into Italy. 

Goethe, writing of this place, says :—“ Our road now lay 
through the valley of the Uri, which is remarkable as having, 
at so great an elevation, such beautiful meadows and pas¬ 
turage for cattle. The cheese which they make here I prefer 
to all others. Sally-hushes line all the brooks, and little 
shrubs lie thick on the ground. To me this is the most 
lovely of all the countries I know. The sky has been quite 
clear, without a single cloud; the hue far deeper than one is 
accustomed to see in town; flat countries, and the white 
mountain ridges which stood out in strong contrast to it, 
were either glittering in the sunshine or took a greyish tint 
in the shade.” The great translucency of the air noticed in 
this passage causes the valley to appear much shorter than 
its actual length, which is, as near as may be, eight miles. 

From Hospital to the top of the St. Gothard is about 
2£ stunde. The road quits the valley of Ursen at that vil¬ 
lage, and ascends the left hank of the Eeuss torrent, which 
comes dashing down all the way over a succession of dark, 
black rocks. It may be travelled either in a carriage, on 
horseback, or on foot; of which three methods the last is the 
best, and the first certainly the worst. About two stunde 
on the journey the road narrows to a gorge, and just beyond 
this point crosses the Eeuss by the bridge of Eudunt to 
enter the Alp of the same name, whence are visible the 
mountain peaks which surround the valley forming the 
summit of the pass, Blauberg and Prosa on the E. and 
the Luzendro and Orsine to the S.E. A few minutes’ walk 
leads to the margin of Lake Luzendro, in which the Eeuss 
has its rise. The road to the hospice leads between several 
smaller lakes, most of which discharge their water on the 
Italian side, and form the reservoirs of the Ticino. The 
summit of the St. Gothard pass has been compared to a 
bald skull surrounded with a crown. It is flat and hare; 
snow-clad peaks and crags rise on all sides above it. St. 
Gothard is not the highest mountain in Switzerland, yet it 
maintains among them a royal rank, because all the great 


THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD. 


79 

I /V 

chains converge together around him, and rest upon him as 
their base. The mountains of Schwytz and Unterwalden, 
joined by those of Uri, range from the north ; from the east, 
those of the Grisons ; from the south, those of the Italian 
cantons; while from the east, by means of the Furca, the 
double line of mountains which enclose Valais press upon 
it. Not far from the hospice are the sources of the Rhine, 
which pursue an easterly direction; and if we take the 
Rhone, which nses at the foot of the Furca and runs west¬ 
ward through Valais, with the Reuss, which empties its 
waters into Lake Lucerne and the Ticino, which through 
gorges and valleys pours down from here into Stor, we shall 
find ourselves at the point of a cross, from which mountain 
ranges and rivers proceed towards the four cardinal points 
of the compass. 

The Hospice of St. Gothard is situated at the most ele¬ 
vated portion of the pass; it is a large heavy-looking place, 
capable of accommodating about twenty persons in a certain 
rude fashion, and is managed by two monks. The poor are 
entertained here gratuitously; tourists are very properly 
expected to make some present, in acknowledgment of the 
service rendered them. The rudiments of the present in¬ 
stitution existed here in the fourteenth century, about which 
time the pass began to be used; for to the Romans it was 
utterly unknown. The read of the St. Gothard is now one 
of the most frequented of the Alps, twenty thousand persons 
and much merchandise passing by it eveiy year between 
Switzerland and Italy. The road is a very fine one, and 
lias been constructed at great charge by the cantons of Uri 
and Ticino, through which it passes; but the tolls upon it 
are so high that the expenditure is now nearly repaid. 
There is a warehouse at the hospice, where the merchants 
deposit and often sell their goods. During the French oc¬ 
cupation which preceded the conflict, the soldiers burnt the 
doors and window-frames, with all the carpentry of the 
hospice, to make their fires; the present building is main¬ 
tained by the canton of Ticino. The climate here is of the 
most rigorous severity. "Winter lasts nine months of the 
year, and snow r s accumulate in places to the depth of from 
twenty to forty feet. “ The cold in this clear atmosphere is 
awful; the stove here is made of stone tiles, and I am sitting 
upon it. It is scarcely possible to keep one’s self warm, espe- 


THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD. 


73 


ciallv as they have no fuel here but brushwood, of which 
they are obliged to be very sparing, as it must be fetched 
up the mountains from a distance of about three leagues; 
for at the summit, they tell us, scarcely any wood grows. 
The reverend father is returned from Airolo so frozen that 
he can scarcely utter a word.”— (Goethe, in November 1779.) 
Tourists, however, have no business on the St. Gothard so 
late in the year as this. In winter and spring certain por¬ 
tions of the route are exceedingly dangerous on account of 
the avalanches, which then fall in great numbers. In the 
travelling season the danger from this source is incon¬ 
siderable, but three or four persons perish every year during 
the bad season. In the whole valley of St. Gothard there 
are but three Alps—those of Rudunt, Sella, and Luzendro, 
where cows can be pastured, or where the traveller will find 
a chalet. 

The St. Gothard was the scene of some sanguinary con¬ 
flicts at the close of the last century. In 1799, in the middle 
of May, the French, under Marshal Soult, seized the hospice. 
On the 16th and 18th of the same month they encountered 
the Austrians, united with the inhabitants of the country, in 
the Yal Levantine and in Mont Cevere. On the 19th, the 
French withdrew from the Grisons to Ursern, under Souchet. 
On the 28th, the Austrian General Haddicli repulsed the 
French under Lecourbe. On the 29th, the Austrian general, 
Count St. Julien, seized the Devil’s Bridge, and advanced 
towards Wasen; and on the 6th of June, after a severe 
struggle, the French Avere compelled to abandon the canton 
of Uri. In August, the French again penetrated through 
the Surene Alps from Sustenberg to the Val Maggia, driving 
the Austrians before them to Flueln and Wasen. On the 
17th they obtained possession of the valleys of Ursern, 
the St. Gothard, and the Ober-Alp, as far as Disentis 
in the Grison; and a corps coming from the Valais occu¬ 
pied the Furca. On the 24th and 25th of September, 
Suwarrow, with 25,000 Paissians and 5000 horses, passed 
the St. Gothard, and drove the French to the Surene Alps. 
On October the 4th, the latter returned to take possession 
of St. Gothard from the side of the Yalais. On the 28th 
of May, a division commanded by Lorge and Money tra¬ 
versed" the St. Gothard, fighting incessantly all the way 
along the Yal Levantine as far as to Lugano and Como, 


74 FROM THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD TO ALTORF. 

where they arrived in June. It seems almost incredible, 
on looking at these passes, that a whole army, with cavalry 
and artillery, could have traversed them; and yet it is 
true. The cannon were taken to pieces, and carried by men ; 
the horses were held by their tails, and supported. Many 
things, indeed, were lost by the way ; many a horse and piece 
of baggage; and 500 Russians fell over into the abysses: but 
the generals marched on, and let them lie, as indeed they 
were compelled to do. 

FROM THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD TO 

ALTORF. 

Distance, 10^ stunde. The first portion of this journey 
retraces the zigzag way of St. Gothard as far as Hospital, 
and there again enters the valley of Ursern. From Hospital 
the high road leads to Andermatt, half a stunde distant. A 
gallows on the way-side is carefully kept up, as a monument 
of the power of life and death, formerly exercised at Ander¬ 
matt, when the valley of Ursern formed a republic in it¬ 
self, and was governed by separate laws. To-day it is 
merged in the canton of Uri, of which Altorf is the capital. 

Andermatt (inns, Drei Konige and Sonne, the former one 
of the best in Switzerland) is the largest of the four towns 
of the valley of Ursern, and is delightfully situated: the 
little green valley, environed by snows, presenting an image 
of spring in the arms of winter. Very fine Rout are to he 
had at the inns, obtained from the lake of the Ober-Alp. 
The high pasturages produce a very beautiful cheese, 
which, however, is too delicate for exportation, and is re¬ 
served for the crowds of tourists who traverse the St. Gothard 
pass in the season. 

During the war of 1799-1800, Andermatt was thrice pil¬ 
laged, and lost two-tliirds of its cattle, besides sixty-two 
chalets on the Ober-Alp. A portion of the little ash forest, 
preserved with religious care for so many generations, and 
which protected the village from avalanches, was then also 
destroyed. When the Russians, under Suwarrow, arrived in 
the village, September 25, 1799, they were so famished, that, 
in default of other provisions, they devoured an enormous 
quantity of soap, which they found in an auberge, and cutting 
in pieces several hides which were drying in a yard, boiled 


FROM THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTIIARD TO ALTORF. 75 

and ate them. In the strength of these aliments they drove 
the French across the Devil’s Bridge, and rushed themselves 
to the passage. The French, in their retreat, broke down 
the bridge by blasting the arch, but this put no stop to the 
impetuous fury of the Russians, who crossed the chasm on 
beams of wood tied together with the officers’ scarfs, and in 
their rage to come to their enemies, plunged hundreds of 
the foremost ranks of their own columns into the foaming 
cataract. * 

During the night which succeeded the retreat of the 
French, one of the Cossack sentinels passing the hanks 
hearing a gurgling voice in the depths below, descended. He 
found there a young French officer, at a depth of 200 feet, 
so broken and bruised by the fall that he could not stand. 
The Cossack fastened him on his shoulders with his belt, 
and in that way set to work to carry him up. When he had 
made some progress with his burden, a part of the rock 
broke under his feet, and he fell, receiving himself con¬ 
siderable injury. At length he regained his post, after 
incredible fatigue, bringing his charge with him. The officer 
was sent to Ilanz, and there recovered. 

The Devil’s Bridge, where these scenes were enacted, is 
about half-a-league from Andermatt, on the way to Altorf. 
From the green, smooth, and open meadows of Andermatt 
the road abruptly enters a mountain, through the long 
gallery or tunnel of Urnerloch, hewn in the solid rock over 
the river Reuss, 180 feet in length, and wide enough for 
carriages. Before this grand tunnel was bored, the mountain, 
shutting down perpendicular into the roaring river, had to 
be passed by a rude suspension gallery of boards outside, 
hung down by chains amidst the very spray of the torrent. 
It was a great exploit to double this cape. 

A stranger is not at all prepared for the scene which bursts 
upon him on the other side of the tunnel, for he has been 
luxuriating in meadows, and there is no sign of change. 
From the green and quiet slopes of the sheltered Ursern 
valley, after spending a few moments in the darkness of 
Urnerloch rock valley, you emerge at once into a gorge of 
utter savageness, directly at the Devil’s Bridge, and in full 
view of some of the grandest scenery in all Switzerland. 
It bursts upon you like a tropical storm, with all the 
sublimity of conflicting and volleying thunder-clouds. It 


70 FROM THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD TO ALTORF. 

is a most stupendous pass. The river, with a great leap 
over its broken bed of rocks, shoots like a catapult into the 
chasm against the base of the mountain, by which it is sud¬ 
denly recoiled at right angles, and plunges, bellowing, down 
the precipitous gorge. 

The new bridge spans the thundering torrent at a height 
of about 125 feet over the cataract. It is of solid, beautiful 
masonry, the very perfection of security and symmetry in 
modern art. As to a wild sublimity, though there is from it 
by far the best view of the cataract of Reuss, and though, 
being nearer to that cataract, it sets you more completely 
in the midst of the conflicting terrors of the gorge, yet for 
itself it is not to be compared with the simple rude old 
structure, above which it rises. That, the genuine Devil’s 
Bridge, is still standing a few yards lower down than the 
new, like an arch in the air, slight, frail, and trembling. It 
is much more in accordance with the scenery than the new, 
and is so covered with mosses, being made of unhewn stones, 
which centuries have beaten and grizzled with tempests, that 
the mountains and the bridge seem all in wild harmony. 

The old bridge was built in 1118 by the Abbot of Ein- 
seidlen, probably to facilitate the journeying of pilgrims from 
a distance to that famous convent. The upper bridge spans 
the cataract of the Ileuss at an angle in the mountain, 
where, naturally, there is not one inch of space for the sole 
of the foot, but a perpendicular cliff, against which the torrent 
rages, and in which the only way of blasting the rock, and 
scooping out a shelf or gallery for the passage on the other 
side, was by lowering down the workmen with ropes from 
the brow of the mountain; where, hanging over the boiling 
gulf, they bored the granite, and fixed their trains of powder. 

The old bridge was only one arch thrown across the 
gorge, and but just broad enough to admit of two persons 
passing each other in safety, with scarcely any protection 
at the sides, and at a height of about a hundred feet above 
the torrent. It was a dizzy thing to pass it, and to get upon 
it the passenger must coast the gulf on zigzag terraces. The 
new bridge is of two arches, with safe and strong parapets, 
and of ample width for carriages. Till the first bridge was 
made there was no communication possible from one side to 
the other. 

After the gorge of the Devil’s Bridge, you plunge down the 


FROM THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD TO ALTORF. 77 

precipitous valley by well-constructed zigzags, crossing and 
recrossing tlie Eeuss repeatedly, till you come to the savage 
defile of Schellinen, Avhere, for about a stunde, the ravine is 
so deep and narrow, that the cliffs seem to arch the heavens, 
and shut out the light. The Eeuss meanwhile keeps such a 
roaring din, making in the short space of four leagues a fall 
of 2500 feet, almost in a perpetual cataract, that the people 
have called this part of the way the Krachenthal, or Crashing 
Valley. 

There are curious legends in this part of the valley. 
Enormous fragments of rock are strewn around, one of 
which, almost a mountain by itself, nearly in the road, goes 
by the name of Teufelstein, or Devil’s Stone, having been 
dropped, it is said, by the overworked demon, in attempting 
to get it across the St. Gothard pass. The legend runs, that 
he set out to convey this crag across the valley for a wager, 
but let it slip, and lost the game. 

At Geschenen the road emerges from the defile of Schel¬ 
linen, and the scenery henceforward gradually becomes more 
varied and beautiful. Charming meadows lie by the water¬ 
side, diversified by little orchards of walnut and pear-trees ; 
cottages and hamlets stud the slopes, at a height which 
places them beyond the reach of the winter floods, as well as 
of the stones and avalanches, which descend at times into 
the valley. Just before coming to Wasen there is a toll¬ 
house, where foot-passengers pay half a batz, and carriages 
fourteen batzen, for the maintenance of the highway. 

At Wasen, a village of 500 inhabitants, on the left bank 
of the Eeuss, where it is joined by the Mayen torrent, there 
is a good inn, the Ochs. Beyond the village the road crosses 
to the right bank by a wooden bridge, then leads through 
a wood, and still descending, returns to the left bank, finally 
crossing the stream again, near Arn Steg. The traveller is 
still in the magnificent pass of the St. Gothard, which con¬ 
tinues to present a character at once picturesque and 
beautiful, wild and savage. The gorges are tremendous; 
the bridges thrown across the torrent frequent and bold. 
Here and there dark forests of fir cling to the mountains, 
and sometimes are seen the savage jagged paths of recent 
avalanches. Now and then there is a little chapel on the 
mountain’s brow; the chime of bells comes ringing up the 


78 FROM THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD TO ALTORF. 

valley; and you meet corded brown friars walking, and women 
working on the roads. 

The variety and contrast of colours offered to the eye 
such a scene, the azure of the sky, the violet mountains, 
of a hue as deep as the heartsease, the grisly grey rocks, 
the black firs, the deep blue gorges, the pale verdure of 
the trees, the deeper green of the grassy slopes and meadow 
patches, the white snow, the dim mists, the silvery clouds, 
the opal of the morn, the golden lights of evening, make up 
a delightful intermingling of hues and shades. At some 
distance below Wasen the mountains are singularly grand. 
Far down the valley a pyramidal peak of bare granite guards 
the way to the region of Tell; and now the green and flowery 
mottled slopes, with the thick luxuriant foliage and fruits 
of the walnut, chestnut, pear, and other trees, begin to 
spread out more largely. In the hay-harvest are seen 
women witli their heads and shoulders buried beneath enor¬ 
mous bundles of the short grass, labouring along the path 
at the brink of precipices, where a single step would plunge 
bundle and carrier into the gulf below. 

Am-Steg (inns, Hirsch and Stern) lies at the foot of the 
mountains called the Bristen and Windguelle. To the east 
the valley of the Maderan opens, and is prolonged as far as 
to the glaciers of Uri, Glarus, and the Grisons. From Am- 
Steg to Altorf is three stunde. The valley now opens out, 
and the way no longer descends, hut winds through a 
well-wooded and cultivated region: it leaves shortly the 
margin of the Reuss, and conducts by the ruins of an old 
tower, said by some to be identical with the Zwing Uri 
(Bridle for Uri), constructed by the infamous Gessler to 
overawe the Swiss, and by them demolished at the com¬ 
mencement of their revolt: by others it is stated to have 
been nothing more than the ancestral seats of the lords of 
Silclilinen. 

At Botzlingen, two stunde from Arn Steg, the public 
officers and members of the parliament of the canton are 
elected every year. The constitution of Uri is very simple. 
R early all power is reserved in the hands of the “ gentle¬ 
men,” i.e. the descendants of the oldest families. The can¬ 
tonal council consists of forty-four members elected for life, 
who both make and administer the laws without appeal. 


FROM THE HOSPICE OF ST. GOTHARD TO ALTORF. 79 

In Uri a citizen is not allowed to marry a stranger without 
paying to his village a fine of 300 florins, and a citizeness 
marrying a stranger loses her rights in the common pro¬ 
perty of her canton. 

Just before reaching Altorf the road reaches the Schachen 
valley to the right of the road, celebrated as containing the 
village of Burglen, where William Tell was horn. It is a 
beautiful rural hamlet, of most magnificent verdure, higher 
up among the mountains than Altorf, and commanding a 
rich leafy view of the valley below. The church is in front, 
and in sight is the village of Attighausen, where Walter 
Furst, Tell’s wife’s father, and a Swiss liberator, was born. 
A little chapel stands on the spot formerly occupied by the 
house in which Tell long resided as Mayor of Burglen. It 
is covered with very rude paintings, descriptive of various 
scenes in Tell’s life, accompanied with sentences from Scrip¬ 
ture. On the front of the chapel is the text, “ We are called 
unto liberty, but by love serve one another.” The valley is 
about four miles in length, rich in Alpine pasturage, and is 
inhabited by one of the finest races in Switzerland. It was 
through this vale that Suwarrow, in 1799, led his army 
into the cauton of Glarus. 

Before coming to Altorf you cross the rapid stream of the 
Schachen, in which it is said that William Tell lost his life 
in his old age by endeavouring to save a child from drown¬ 
ing, when the waters were high. This was in 1350. He was 
bom about the year 1280. The traditions respecting Tell 
are highly prized in Uri, and the public authorities of the 
canton ordered to be burned a book by the son of the cele¬ 
brated Haller, criticising the story of Tell so as to injure the 
popular version. On a clear moonlight night, it is said, you 
can even now sometimes see the stalwart form of Tell in his 
native valley, bending his great cross-bow, and trying the 
strength of his arrows. 

Altorf is from Burglen less than lialf-an-hour’s walk 
(inns, Adler and Clef-d’Or, best; Aigle and Clef-d’Or). It is 
the capital of Uri, and stands nearly on the confine of the 
canton. It is small, not having above 1700 inhabitants, but 
clean, beautifully situated, and surrounded by gardens and 
orchards. The town has no manufactures, and is poor; a 
conflagration occurred here in 1799, when nearly all the 


80 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


houses then forming the little capital were burned down, 
and a loss of 4,500,000 francs was sustained. 

It was in the square of Altorf that the celebrated boy-and- 
npple scene was enacted, and an old tower is shown, said to 
have been built upon the site where once grew the linden to 
which the tyrant Gessler bound the noble child as the mark 
for his father’s archery. Wordsworth’s lines were suggested 
by contemplating this tower:— 

“ How blest the souls, who, when their trials come, 

Yield not to terror or despondency, 

But face, like that sweet boy, their mortal doom, 

Whose head the ruddy apple tops, while he 
Expectant stands beneath the linden tree, 

Not quaking, like the timid forest game ; 

He smiles, the hesitating shaft to free. 

Assured that Heaven its justice will proclaim, 

And to his father give its own unerring aim.” 

Figures of the heroes stand above the fountain, and are 
dearly cherished in spite of the rudeness of their execution. 

From Altorf a walk of about half an hour brings the tra¬ 
veller to Fluellen, a mere village in the low unhealthy part 
of the valley of the Reuss, but of some importance, as being 
the place of embarkation for Lucerne, on whose lake it 
stands. 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 

From Fluellen a steamer starts for Lucerne morning and 
evening, at hours which are fixed at the commencement of 
every season. On its way it calls at Brunnen, the port of 
the canton of Schwytz; at Gersau and Weggis, to disembark 
passengers for the Rhigi; and at Beekenried, the nearest 
landing-place to Buochs and Stanz. Distance from Fluellen 
to Lucerne, 25 miles. Fares : 1 fr. 60 rap. and 3 fr. 20 rap. 

The Lake of Lucerne, also called the Yierwaldstadter Sea, 
or Lake of the Four Cantons, (Uri, Schwytz, Unterwalden, 
and Lucerne, which it laves, having during the middle ages 
borne the name of the Four Cantons), is the geographical and 
historical centre of Switzerland, since the heroic scenes which 
introduced its modern history were enacted on its banks. 
Its surface is 1430 feet above the level of the sea. In form 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCEENE. 


81 


it is most irregular, presenting at no point an expanse of 
water at all proportioned to its real capacity, and being for 
the most part made up of a number of narrow channels dis¬ 
posed at various angles to each other. The first of these 
straits lies between the southern extremity of the lake near 
Fluellen and Brunnen, where the Muotta pours down its 
waters. At Brunnen the lake narrows and suddenly bends, 
forming a wider channel, the north bank of which ends at 
Gersau, while its southern side is prolonged in a bay to 
Buochs. Above Gersau the lake expands somewhat, and 
permits its north-western extremity at Lucerne to be reached 
from that point in a straight line. About midway be¬ 
tween Gersau and Lucerne it thrusts out two arms, one 
of which extends on the right to Kussnach and the other to 
Alpnach. 

Lucerne is allowed on all hands to be the finest of Swiss 
lakes, its three reaches presenting every variety of lake 
scenery. No other presents such a magnificent variety 
of light and shade: snowy peaks and silvery glaciers, deep 
green ravines, dark wood and naked rock, and lovely fertile 
spots of cultivation, sunny, warm, and rich. Along the bay 
of Uri, between Fluellen and Brunnen, the banks are pre¬ 
cipitous, and the rocky shore, wild scenery, and crags 
crowned with pines, remind a northern traveller of the fiords 
of Norway. The rocks dip perpendicularly into the water, 
and a landing in case of a storm would be almost impossi¬ 
ble. In the middle branch, grandeur gives place to pic¬ 
turesqueness of scenery; while the characteristic of the lower 
branch, which joins Lucerne, and is surrounded by country- 
houses, and orchards, and wooded knolls, is its beauty. 

The Swiss boats are coarse and clumsy in construction ; 
keeled-boats are never seen ; the oars are crossed, and used 
standing, the rower pressing against them with arms and 
breast. Some of the larger vessels carry a square sail, but 
this demands great caution and skill; sudden gusts of wind 
often rush through the ravines and lash up the waters to a 
wild tumult, making it needful to seek immediate shelter. 
Accidents, however, are comparatively rare, owing to the 
caution, perhaps the timidity, of the boatmen, who have a 
very justifiable distrust of their abilities in an emergency. 

About two miles from Fluellen, on the east side of the 
lake, at the foot of the Achsen mountain, are the Tellenplatte, 

G 


82 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


and Tell’s chapel. William Tell having been taken prisoner 
at Altorf, was to he taken for greater security to the fortress 
at Kussnach. For this purpose he was put into a boat at 
Fluellen, and the boat set sail; but one of those sudden and 
violent storms to which the lake is so subject having arisen, 
the boat was driven close to the shore. Tell, who was a 
powerful man, was released, that he might assist in saving 
the boat, which contained Gessler. He saw and seized 
his opportunity, leaped on shore at this spot, and well 
knowing all the mountains, fled over to Kussnach to await 
the tyrant. It was on the 28th November, 1307, that Tell’s 
arrow slew Gessler on the cross-road of Kussnach. On the 
1st of January following, the deputies of the cantons which 
had entered the league of liberation expelled the Austrian 
bailiffs from Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden, and seized all 
the forts. Tell fought at Morgarten in the ranks of the 
1300 Confederates, who won the first victory over the Austrian 
power. He lived until the middle of the fourteenth century, 
and had the happiness to see the cantons of Lucerne, 
Zurich, Zug, Glarus, and Berne included in the Confede¬ 
ration. At an advanced age he perished in the Schachen, 
near the bridge by which the traveller enters Altorf, in 
attempting to save a child which had fallen into the torrent. 
His race became extinct by the death of Yerena Tell, who 
died in 1720. At the death of William Tell the inhabitants 
of Uri ordained a yearly meeting of the canton at Burglen 
in honour of their illustrious fellow-citizen. The Cantonal 
Council decreed, moreover, that every year a sermon should 
be preached in the place “ where stands the house of our 
dear fellow-citizen, the first restorer of our liberties, to the 
eternal memory of the mercy of God and the sure aim of the 
hero.” In 1380, about thirty years after his death, this 
chapel was built, and 111 persons met there who had known 
him during his life. The prospect on the ledge near Tell’s 
chapel is very magnificent. 

About three miles from the Tellenplatte the west shore 
has subsided, and a beautifully green meadow opens out, 
called the Grutli-matte. It was here that Werner Staf- 
faucher of Steinen, in Schwytz, Erni (or Arnold) der Halden 
of Melchtlml, in Unterwalden, and Walter Furst of Atting- 
hausen, in Uri, met in the moonlight, and swore to break 
the fetters of their country’s slavery, expel the tyrants, and 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


88 


if necessary, to pour out the last drop of their blood in 
restoring their country to its ancient freedom. After this 
they continued their midnight meetings to concert measures 
for carrying out their resolve. Finally, on the 17th of 
November, 1307, each of them repaired to the spot, accom¬ 
panied by ten stout and trusty companions, and these three- 
and-tliirty agreed to take an oath “ to undertake nothing but 
with the participation of his confederates, to sustain and be 
faithful to one another to death, to defend the old rights of 
the land, to do no injury to the Counts of Hapsburg, either 
in their persons or rights, and not to ill-treat their go¬ 
vernors.” This done, the three chiefs advanced to the middle 
of the group, and with hands lifted to Heaven swore to stand 
by one another, and transmit a free country to their children. 
On the 1st of January, in the following year, the plan was 
executed simultaneously in the three forest towns ; the castles 
were taken, and the tyrannical bailiffs of Austria conducted 
to the frontiers unharmed, where an oath was taken of them 
never to re-enter either of the three cantons. Such was the 
origin of the Helvetic confederation and of the Swiss nation. 
In June, 1313, the people of the three cantons of Uri, 
Schwytz, and Unterwalden, renewed their alliance in the 
meadow of Grutle. In 1713 they confirmed it in the same 
place, by the oath of 3G0 deputies. 

On the opposite side of the lake, one of the precipitous 
Alps,- whose foundations it conceals, shows, high up in the 
air, a white scar, where a fragment of rock, 1200 feet wide, 
broke from the mountain and fell into the lake in the year 
1801, raising such a wave in its fall, that at the distance of a 
mile a hamlet was overwhelmed and five houses destroyed 
by it, with the loss of a number of lives. The size of this 
fragment, though the scar in the mountain looks so incon¬ 
siderable, may serve to direct the traveller’s measurement of 
those huge avalanches, which at the distance of leagues 
look so enormous on the Jungfrau, and which on other 
mountains have buried whole villages and swept whole 
forests in their way. 

Beyond this point the shores again grow bold and pre¬ 
cipitous as far as to the headland of Treib, which marks the 
extreme point of the Bay of Uri. Opposite Treib, where 
there is an inn, is 

Brunnen (inn, Goldener Adler), a village at the month 


84 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


of the Muotta, which drains the canton of Schwytz. A great 
number of boatmen constantly frequent the village, relying 
upon the traffic by the pass of the St. Gothard. 

At Brunnen we enter the second reach of the lake. The 
right coast has by far the more beautiful bank. Although in 
many places steep, it is, for the most part, covered with a 
rich verdure, and is well clothed with beech, hazel, and oak. 
At the end of the reach is seen Mount Pilate, whose pointed 
summits form a magnificent background. 

Gersau, a little village (inn, Sonne), is delightfully situated 
on a little green platform at the foot of the Righi, level with 
the lake. Its eighty white houses, each with its garden, 
occupy a ledge of about a quarter of a mile square, and on 
three sides are shut in by lofty mountains. 

The history of Gersau is somewhat singular. In the year 
1359 the village and territory, in all about six square miles, 
formed a commune, which the Counts of Hapsburg had 
sold to the Barons of Moos, of the country of Uri. In 
this year the people of the commune allied themselves with 
the three first cantons, and assisted the Confederates in all 
their wars. At the battle of Sempach, in 1386, one of its 
warriors took a standard from the Hohenzollern. In 1390 it 
made a compact with the Barons of Moos, by which the 
latter undertook to trouble the commune no more with their 
claims upon receiving the sum of 690 lbs. of pfennings; which 
were actually raised and paid by this small and poor com¬ 
munity. The liberty and independence of Gersau were 
then acknowledged, and from that time to the revolution of 
1798 Gersau was the smallest sovereign state in Europe. It 
now makes part of the canton of Schwytz. 

Beckenried, on the west coast, is the nearest point to 
Stanz and Buochs, in Unterwalden, at which the steamer 
can touch without entering the Bay of Buochs, which lies 
too far out of the road to Lucerne. The vessel now turns 
northward, and enters a narrow strait, not seen until, nearly 
approached, and formed by two advancing promontories 
running out on the left from the Burgenberg, and on the 
right from the Righi. As the boat, when past these head¬ 
lands, changes its direction, it seems, on looking backward, as 
if the mountains actually shut in the portion of the lake now 
entered, and to which belongs more especially the name of 
Lake Lucerne. 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


85 


Weggis, the nearest point of landing to the Righi, stands 
on the base of that mountain, where it descends to the lake 
at a small angle. Beyond Weggis the lake throws out an 
arm, which reaches Kussnach. The right side of the hay is 
formed by the Righi, which is covered with pastures and 
woods, amid which rise a great number of cottages. Oppo¬ 
site is a cliff, with the castle of New Hapsburg and the 
village of Meggen. 

Mount Pilate, occupying a point beyond the termination 
of the Alpnach arm, is seen well from this point, and is in 
many respects an interesting mountain. The form of its three 
highest peaks is very striking, and rising immediately from 
the lake to the height of more than 7000 feet, it presents a 
grand front. There is a small lake, high up in the mountain, 
into which Pontius Pilate, who is said to have resided in 
Switzerland after he was banished by Tiberius into Gaul, 
plunged, stung with remorse. His vexed spirit still dwells 
there, and invites the tempest. According to the popular 
proverb, 

“ When Pilatus doffs his hat 
Then the weather will be wet. ” 

But when he keeps on his slouched closed beaver all day, 
one may expect fair weather. 

It was upon this mountain that was constructed, many 
years ago, a great and useful work, the Slide of Alpnach, for 
facilitating the descent of timber. 

On the south side of Pilatus are great forests of spruce- 
fir, consisting of the finest timber, but in a situation which 
the height, the steepness, and the ruggedness of the ground, 
seemed to render inaccessible. They had rarely been visited 
hut by the chamois hunters; and it was from them, indeed, 
that the first information concerning the size of the trees, 
and the extent of the forest, appears to have been received. 
These woods are in the canton of Unterwalden, where there 
are no manufactures, little accumulation of capital, and no 
commercial enterprise. In the possession of such masters, 
the lofty firs of Pilatus were likely to remain long the orna¬ 
ments of their mountain. 

Mr. Rupp, however, a native of Wirtemherg, and a skilful 
engineer, in which profession he had been educated, indig¬ 
nant at the political changes effected in his own country 


86 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


was induced to take refuge among a free people, and came 
to settle in the canton of Schywtz, on the opposite side of 
the Lake of Lucerne. The accounts which he heard there 
of the forest just mentioned determined him to visit it, and 
he was so much struck by its appearance, that, long and 
rugged as the descent was, he conceived the bold project of 
bringing down the trees, by no other force than their own 
weight, into the Lake of Lucerne, from whence the conveyance 
to the German Ocean was easy and expeditious. A more 
accurate survey of the ground convinced him of the practica¬ 
bility of the project. 

He had, by this time, resided long enough in Switzerland 
to have both his talents and integrity in such estimation, 
that he was able to prevail on a number of the proprietors 
to form a company, with a joint stock, to be laid out in the 
purchase of the forest, and in the construction of the road 
along which it was intended that the trees should slide down 
into the Lake of Lucerne, the arm of which fortunately 
approaches quite near to the bottom of the mountain. The 
sum required for this purpose was very considerable for that 
country, amounting to 9000Z. or 10,000/.; 3000/. to be laid 
out on the purchase of the forest from the community of 
Alpnach, the proprietors of it, and the rest being necessary 
for the construction of the singular railway by which the 
trees were to be brought down. 

The distance which the trees had to be conveyed is 46,000 
feet. The medium height of the forest is about 2500 feet. 
The horizontal distance just mentioned is 44,252 feet—eight 
English miles and about three furlongs. The declivity is, 
therefore, one foot in 17-68 ; the medium angle of elevation, 
3° 14' 20". 

This declivity, though so moderate on the whole, was, in 
many places, very rapid. At the beginning the inclination 
was about one-fourth of a right angle, or about 22° 30'; in 
many places, 20°, but nowhere greater than the angle first 
mentioned, 22° 30'. The inclination continued of this quan¬ 
tity for about 500 feet, after which the way was less steep, 
and often considerably circuitous, according to the directions 
which the ruggedness of the ground forced it to take. 

Along this line the trees descended in a sort of trough 
built in a cradle form, and extending from the forest to the 
edge of the lake. Three trees squared, and laid side by side, 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


87 


formed the bottom of the trough; the tree in the middle 
having its surface hollowed, so that a rill of water, received 
from distance to distance over the side of the trough, might 
he conveyed along the bottom, and preserve it moist. Ad¬ 
joining to the central part (of the trough), other trees, also 
squared, were laid parallel to the former, in such a manner 
as to form a trough rounded in the interior, and of such 
dimensions as to allow the largest trees to lie or to move 
quite readily. When the direction of the trough turned 
or had any bending, of which there were many, its sides 
were made higher and stronger, especially on the convex 
side, or that from which it bent, so as to provide against the 
trees bolting or flying out, which they sometimes did, in 
spite of every precaution. In general, the trough was from 
five to six feet wide at top, and from three to four in depth; 
varying, however, in different places, according to circum¬ 
stances. 

This singular road was constructed at considerable ex¬ 
pense ; though, as it went almost for its whole length 
through a forest, the materials of construction were at hand, 
and of small value. It contained 30,000 trees; was in gene¬ 
ral supported on cross-timbers, that were themselves sup¬ 
ported by uprights fixed in the ground. It crossed in its 
way three great ravines: one at the height of 61 feet, another 
at the height of 103, and a third, where it went along the 
face of a rock, at that of 157. In two places it was conveyed 
under ground. It was finished in 1812. 

The trees which descend by this conveyance were spruce- 
firs, very straight, and of great size. All their branches 
were lopped off, stripped of the bark, and the surface, of 
course, made tolerably smooth. The trees or logs, of which 
the trough was built, were dressed with the axe, but without 
much care. 

All being thus prepared, the tree was launched with the 
root-end foremost into the steep part of the trough, and in a 
few seconds acquired such a velocity as enabled it to reach 
the lake in the short space of six minutes: a result altogether 
astonishing, when it is considered that the distance is more 
than eight miles, that the average declivity is but one foot 
in seventeen, and that the route which the trees have to 
follow is often circuitous, and in some places almost hori¬ 
zontal. 


88 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


Where large bodies are moved with such velocity as has 
now been described, and so tremendous a force of course 
produced, everything had need to be done with the utmost 
regularity, every obstacle carefully removed that can ob¬ 
struct the motion, or that might suffer by so fearful a col¬ 
lision. Everything, accordingly, with regard to launching 
off the trees, was directed by telegraphic signals. All along 
the slide men were stationed at different distances, from 
half a mile to three-quarters, or more, but so that every 
station might be seen from the next, both above and below. 
At each of these stations also was a telegraph, consisting of 
a large board like a door, that turned at its middle on a 
horizontal axle. When the tree was launched from the top, 
a signal was made by turning the board upright; the same 
was followed by the rest, and thus the information is con¬ 
veyed, almost instantaneously, all along the slide, that a tree 
was on its way. By and by, to any one that is stationed on 
the side, even to those at a great distance, the same was 
announced by the roaring of the tree itself, which became 
always louder and louder; the tree came in sight when it 
was perhaps half a mile distant, and in an instant after shot 
past with the noise of thunder and the rapidity of lightning. 
As soon as it had reached the bottom, the lowest telegraph 
was turned down, the signal passed along all the station, 
and the workmen at the top were informed that the tree had 
arrived in safety. Another was set off as expeditiously as 
possible; the moment was announced as before, and the 
same process repeated, till the trees that had been got in 
readiness for that day had been sent down into the lake. 

The trees thus brought down into the Lake of Lucerne 
were formed into rafts, and floated down the very rapid 
stream of the Reuss, by which the lake discharges its water, 
first into the Aar, and then into the Rhine. By this convey¬ 
ance, which is all of it in streams of gi*eat rapidity, the trees 
sometimes reached Basle in a few days after they had left 
Lucerne, and there the intermediate concern of the Alpnach 
company terminated. They still continued to be navigated 
down the Rhine in rafts to Holland, and were afloat in the 
German Ocean in less than a month from having descended 
from the side of Pilatus, a very inland mountain, not less 
than a thousand miles distant. The Emperor Napoleon had 
made a contract for all the timber thus brought down. 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


89 


This useful work has since been taken down. 

Beyond the bays of Alpnach and Kussnach the boat passes 
the cape of the Meggenhorn and the little island of Altstadt, 
and soon touches land at the Hofbrucke, when the voyager 
is at Lucerne. 

Lucerne.— Hotels: Schweitzer Hof, near the pier, first- 
rate ; Waage, good and fair ; Schwann, good. There are like¬ 
wise two pensions. 

Lucerne is built on both sides the Reuss, at the point 
where Switzerland’s most historic river leaves its only lake 
in a clear sea-green stream. Its situation is extremely 
beautiful, with the Lake of Lucerne ou the south-east; and 
a fertile country lies in its rear and on both sides, while 
Mount Pilate rises in grand gloom on its right, and the 
Righi with cheerful verdure in front. Lucerne is one of the 
three towns, with Berne and Zurich, where the Diet of the 
Confederation holds its sessions. It is styled “ Town and 
Republic,” having a Council of One Hundred for its govern¬ 
ment, divided into a daily council of thirty-six, and the 
larger council of sixty-four, the whole hundred meeting 
every three years, or, if the daily council require it, oftener. 
At the head of the council is a chief magistrate, called the 
Avoyer. The number of the inhabitants ' in the town is 
about 8000 Romanists and 200 Protestants, the Protestants 
being excluded from all participation in the rights of citi¬ 
zens, and only admitted on sufferance. 

Lucerne is a very ancient city, with a wall and numerous 
towers. It has been said to derive its name from a tower in 
the lake, on which a light was kept burning. Dr. Casimir 
Pfyffer states that a Benedictine monastery was founded 
here in 698, and that the town grew up around it. In the 
progress of history the citizens gained for themselves many 
rights and privileges, elected their own magistrates, and in 
1291 acknowledged allegiance to Austria, but in 1332 re¬ 
moved it, and joined the league of the Forest Towns, fight¬ 
ing with them at the battle of Sempach. The first consti¬ 
tution of the canton was democratic, and the citizens had 
equal rights; but by the close of the fifteenth century the 
patrician families had contrived to appropriate all the public 
power and prerogatives in public matters. No one not born 
in the town could sit in the Cantonal Council, and in 1773 
an ordinance was published making certain offices here- 


uo 


LAKE AND TOWN OF LUCERNE. 


ditary. After many revolutions, a liberal constitution was 
formed in 1831; but in 1841 a peasant democracy swept it 
clean away, and placed all power in the hands of the clerical 
party. In 1845, Colonel Ochsenbein marched against the 
town at the head of a free 0017 ) 5 , intending to overthrow the 
Jesuit influence ; but, through some misunderstanding, the 
expedition had a disastrous issue, and many a citizen was 
left for months in a dungeon before he was ransomed by 
his canton. 

The bridges of Lucerne are remarkable features of the 
town. The Hofbrucke, which extends across a portion of 
the lake, and, until 1835, was 1380 feet in length, is hung 
with 240 pictures representing the whole Scripture history, 
scenes from the Old Testament being arranged on one side, 
and subjects from the New being represented on the other. 

The Kappellebrucke is hung on one side with pictures, 
representing, in oil-colours, all the heroic events in Swiss 
history. 


“ Long may these homely works devised of old, 

These simple efforts of Helvetian skill, 

Aid, with congenial influence, to uphold 
The State—the Country’s destiny to mould ; 

Turning, for them who pass, the common dust 
Of servile opportunity to gold ; 

Filling the soul with sentiments august, 

The beautiful, the brave, the holy, and the just!” 

Wordsworth. 

The Miihlbrucke, the most distant from the lake, is hung 
with paintings of the Dance of Death. 

The Arsenal contains the banner of the canton, stained 
with the blood of the Avoyer de Gundoldingen, who died 
while defending it at Sempach, 1386 ; the coat of mail worn 
by Duke Leopold of Austria; and the collar of spikes, in¬ 
tended to have been put on the neck of the Avoyer had he 
survived and the Austrians been victorious. 

In a garden about five minutes’ walk outside the Weggis- 
gate, is a monument erected to the memory of the Swiss 
Guards who fell in defending the Tuileries on the 10 th of 
August, 1792. It is hewn out of a solid rock, and repre¬ 
sents a lion dying wounded by an arrow, and seeming in the 
agonies of death to protect the Bourbon fleur-de-lis. The 
figure is twenty-eight feet in length, and is eighteen feet 


LUCERNE, OVER THE RIGHI. 


91 


high. The idea was proposed to Thorwaldsen, by a person 
sent to Rome for that purpose by General Pfyffer ; and that 
sculptor, varying a little the original conception, produced a 
model, which was brought to Switzerland, and intrusted to 
Mr. Ahorn of Constance, who completed the present work. 
It occupied him eighteen months, and he was paid for it 
2000/. sterling. The names of the Swiss Guards who fell 
in the event commemorated are carved beneath. 

The churches of Lucerne are not very remarkable. The 
cathedral contains a picture by Lanfranc, and a very fine 
organ, which is only surpassed in Switzerland by that re¬ 
cently placed in the cathedral at Fribourg. 

The corn-market held at Lucerne once a-week is one of 
the largest in Switzerland. Lucerne, although one of the 
largest cantons of the Confederation, and covered with the 
finest soil, which produces most abundantly whereon time 
and industry are bestowed on the land, produces little more 
than it consumes, and has paupers in every commune. The 
market is supplied with rye and wheat, the greater part of 
which is brought from Aargovia, and which feeds not only 
Lucerne, but Unterwalden and Uri. The boats from Fluellen 
and the Unterwalden side of the lake arrive on market-days 
in considerable numbers. 

The Papal Nuncio honours the first Catholic canton by 
residing in his capital; a fact which intending travellers in 
Italy should remember, if they would have their passports 
en regie. 

Diligences run daily to Berne, Solothum, Basle, Aargau, 
Zurich, and Zug. 

LUCERNE, OYER THE RIGHI, TO ARTH 

AND ZUG. 

The Righi is the chief feature in this route, commanding 
as it does a magnificent view into the mountain-world of 
Switzerland, which no tourist should neglect. The simplest 
and most direct way of reaching the Kulm (or culminating 
point) of the Righi from Lucerne is over the lake to Weggis, 
thence ascending the mountain. The ascent from Kussnach 
is not to be recommended. Many travellers ascend from 
Arth, on the opposite side of the mountain. The drive from 
Lucerne to Arth by Kussnach, a distance of about 13 miles, 


92 


THE RIGHI TO ARTH AND ZUG. 


is very pleasant, a good road lying on the banks of the lakes 
Lucerne and Zug nearly the whole distance; and the tourist 
intending to return to Lucerne by Weggis may vary his ex¬ 
cursion by taking the road. The ascent of the mountain 
from Arth, however, is far more toilsome than from Weggis, 
owing to the greater steepness and roughness of the path. 

The Fluellen steam-boat touches at the Weggis twice a- 
day. Sailing-boats with two rowers may also be hired at 
Lucerne, at prices regulated by an official tariff exhibited in 
every inn. By steam-boat the lake is crossed in about an 
hour; for a sailing-boat, another hour should be allowed. 

From Weggis to Bighi Kul m is about 3 hours; from the 
kulm to Arth, hours. From Arth to Zug there is a capital 
carriage-road ; distance about 7 miles. 

To see the sun rise is, of course, the great object of the 
tourist, for which purpose it is necessary to sleep on the 
mountain. In the height of the season, travellers who are 
not prepared to take their chance of accommodation in the 
crowded inn on the summit must send and engage a bed. 
The view, after all, is extremely uncertain. An ordinarily 
fine morning will not answer; the sky must be clear the mo¬ 
ment the sun rises into it. Though the whole heavens be¬ 
sides be fair, yet if there happen to be a stripe or bank of 
clouds lying along the eastern horizon, the great spectacle is 
lost. The fog, which sometimes rises in fine weather, is still 
more destructive. So it may thus easily be conceived, that 
of the many thousands who travel thither very few obtain the 
object of their journey. By taking care to gain the summit 
before sunset, a chance of a view only second to that of the 
morning is secured. 

Weggis (inn, Lowe), a clean, small village, stands on a 
little platform at the base of the Bighi, where the pitch of 
the mountain slope is less than ordinary. In 1795, a tor¬ 
rent of mud descended from the Bighi, and swept away a 
great portion of the village. In the spring, the melted snows 
and rains had entered the crevices of the rocks above, until 
gradually they had converted a considerable portion of the 
internal stratum of the mountain into a bed of mud. Had 
the cohesion of a superior part of the pile been broken, a 
landfall would have occurred; but such not being the case, 
the immense weight forced the mud through openings in the 
rock to the surface, whence it flowed down the declivity into 


THE RIGHI TO ARTH AND ZUG. 


93 


the lake. The progress of this extraordinary avalanche, 
like that of lava, was slow, hut irresistible; and the earth 
was left completely covered to the height of many feet. 
Every vestige of the labours of man that was abandoned to 
its course was swept away. There was time, however, to 
save nearly everything but the earth itself and its fruits ; 
the peasants actually removing most of their houses. 

Horses and chaises-a-porteur are kept ready at Weggis for 
parties making the ascent of the Righi. The terms of hiring 
are fixed by an official tariff. The guides that offer them¬ 
selves here can only render the sendees of porters, as the 
mule-track cannot possibly be mistaken. All the way up 
there is an agreeable variety of lake, woodland, and mountain 
scenery. A little chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross is 
passed shortly after leaving Weggis ; beyond it is the Eel- 
senthor, or Rocky Gate, a curious arrangement of three 
blocks from pudding-stone, through which the traveller 
must pass. About a mile further on is a little bathing- 
house, built on a mountain spring. 

About a mile below the Kulm is the Staffelhaus, an humble 
inn, chiefly used as a lodging-house by invalids, but which is 
often the pis-aller of the traveller, who finds all the inns at 
the summit of the Righi occupied. 

The chief inn on the Righi stands a few steps down the 
slope below the Kulm. The company encountered in this 
establishment is of the most miscellaneous character. 
Every nation in Christendom, and America into the bargain, 
sends it representative of the day. The excitement of a 
place Avhere so many individuals of different tongues, fea¬ 
tures, and manners are constantly arriving, all, however, urg¬ 
ing the same demands with the greatest exigence and in 
every language, is very amusing to the visitor who has dined. 
The cold here is very intense, the mountain being 5900 feet 
in height above the sea level, and travellers have need of all 
their garments. In the morning, upon rising from a warm 
bed, this want is especially felt, and travellers occasionally 
endeavour to rectify their uncomfortable mistake by wrapping 
themselves in the blankets under which they have slept; a 
practice which has suggested the intimation, in form of a 
warning, to be found in every room, that those who carry off 
the bed coverings shall pay a tax of ten batz each. In 1849, 
the former inn was destroyed by fire. 


94 


THE EIGHT TO ARTH AND ZUG. 


The brow of the Righi is as perpendicular as Arthur’s 
Crag at Edinburgh, and almost cresting over. The sunset, 
as seen from this point in fine weather, is of extraordinary 
splendour. In the distant south are seen the snowy peaks of 
the Bernese Alps ; on the south-east and east, another snowy 
range, the mountains of Glarus and their adjuncts. The lakes 
of Lucerne and Zug are at the bottom of the mountain, the 
latter almost at the beholder’s feet. “ In the evening, walking 
along the edge of the precipice, the vast scene is one of deep 
beauty, though you are waiting for dawn to reveal its several 
features. The lights in so many villages far below, over so 
great an extent, produce a wild and magic picturesqueness. 
There, at our left, is Lucerne; here, at our feet, is Kussnaclit; 
a few steps to the right, and Arth is below you, with many 
glancing lights in the surrounding chalets. The evening 
church bells are ringing, and the sound comes undulating 
upward, so deep, so musical! There is no moon, but the 
stars are out, and methinks they look much brighter, more 
startling, more earnest, than they do from the world below.” 
In the morning, about twenty minutes before sunrise, one of 
the people of the air blows a blast on a long wooden horn to 
waken the sleepers. 

“ It was the 6th of September, and the most perfectly 
beautiful morning that can be imagined. At a quarter past 
three the stars were reigning supreme in the heavens, with 
just enough of the old moon left to make a trail of light in 
the shape of a little silver boat among them. But speedily 
the horizon began to redden over the eastern range of 
mountains, and then the dawn stole on in such a succession 
of deepening tints, that nothing but the hues of the pre¬ 
ceding sunset could be more beautiful. But there is this 
great difference between the sunrise and sunset, that the 
hues of sunset are every moment deepening as you look 
upon them, until again they fade into the darkness, while 
those of the sunrise gradually fade into the light of day. It 
is difficult to say which process is most beautiful; for if you 
could make everything stand still around you, if you could 
stereotype or stay the process for an hour, you could not 
tell whether it were the morning dawn or the evening twi¬ 
light. 

“A few long, thin stripes of fleecy cloud, lay motionless 
above the eastern horizon, like layers of silver lace, dipped 


THE RIGHI TO ARTH AND ZUG. 


95 


first in crimson, then in gold, then in pink, then lined with 
an ermine of light, just as if the moon had been lengthened 
in soft furrows along the sky. This scene in the east 
attracts every eye at first, but it is not here that the glory of 
the view is to be looked for. This glory is in that part of 
the horizon on which the sun first falls, as he struggles up 
behind the mountains to flood the world with light. And 
the reason why it is so glorious is that, long before you call 
it sunrise in the east, he lights up in the west a range of 
colossal pyres, that look like blazing cressets kindled from 
the sky and fed with naphtha. 

“ The object most conspicuous as the dawn broke, and 
indeed the most sublime, was the vast range of the enor¬ 
mous snowy mountains of the Oberland, without spot of cloud 
or veil of mist to dim them ; the Finster-Aarhorn at the left, 
and the Jungfrau and Silberliorn at the right, peak after 
peak, and mass after mass, glittering with a cold wintry 
whiteness in the grey dawn. Almost the exact half of the 
circumference of the horizon commanded before and behind 
in our view, was filled with these peaks and masses of snow 
and ice ; then, lower down, the mountains of bare rock, and 
lower still the earth with mounts of verdure; and this sec¬ 
tion of the horizontal circumference, which is filled with the 
vast ranges of the Oberland Alps, being almost due west 
from the sun's first appearance, it is on their tops that the 
rising rays first strike. 

“ This was the scene for which we watched, and it seems 
as if nothing in nature can ever again be so beautiful. It 
was as if an angel had flown round the horizon of mountain 
ranges, and lighted up each of their white pyramidal points 
in succession, like a row of gigantic lamps burning with 
rosy fires. Just so the sun suddenly tipped the highest 
points and lines of the snowy outline, and then, descending 
lower on the body of the mountains, it was as if an invisible 
hand had taken them, and dipped the whole range in a 
glowing pink; the line between the cold snow untouched by 
the sunlight, and the warm roseate hue above, remaining 
perfectly distinct. This effect continued some minutes, be¬ 
coming, up to a certain point, more and more beautiful. 

“We were like children in a dark room, watching for the 
lighting up of some great transparency. Or, to use Dante’s 
image,— 


96 


THE RIGHT TO ARTII AND ZUG. 


* ’Twixt gladness and amaze. 

In sooth no will had we to utter aught, 

Or hear . 

.Our eyes 

Coursed up and down along the living light, 
Now low, and now aloft, and now around, 
Visiting every step Each mount did seem 
Colossal ruby, whereon so inwrought 
The sunbeam glowed, yet soft, it flamed intense 
In ecstasy of glory.’ 


“ In truth, no word was uttered when that scene became 
visible. Each person gazed in silence, or spake as in a 
whisper. 

“ This was the transient view, to behold which one might 
well undertake to cross seas. After these few moments, 
when the sun rose so high that the whole masses of snow 
upon the mountain ranges were lighted with the same rosy- 
light, it grew rapidly fainter, till you could no longer distin¬ 
guish the deep exquisite pink and rosy hues by means of 
their previous contrast with the cold white. Next the sun’s 
rays fell upon the bare rocky peaks, where there was neither 
snow nor vegetation, making them shine like jasper, and 
next on the forests and soft grassy slopes, and so down into 
the deep bosom of the vales. The pyramidal shadow cast 
by the Bighi mountain was most distinct and beautiful, but 
the atmospheric phenomenon of the Spectre of the Bighi 
was not visible. 

“ This amazing panorama is said to extend over a circum¬ 
ference of 300 miles. In all this region, when the upper 
glory of the heavens and mountain peaks has ceased playing, 
then, as the sun gets higher, forests, lakes, hills, rivers, 
trees, and villages, at first indistinct and grey in shadows, 
become flooded with sunshine, and almost seem floating up 
towards you. There was for us another feature of the view, 
constituting by itself one of the most novel and charming 
sights of Swiss scenery, but which does not always accom¬ 
pany the panorama from the Bighi, even in a fine morning. 
On earth, the morning may be too fine. This was the soft, 
smooth, white body of mist, lying on most of the lakes and 
on the vales—a sea of mist, floating, or rather brooding, like 
a white dove, over the landscape. The spots of land at first 
visible in the midst of it were just like islands half emerg¬ 
ing to the view. It lay over the bay of Kussnacht at our 
feet, like the white robe of an infant in the cradle, but the 




THE RIGHI TO ARTH AND ZUG. 


97 


greater part of the Lake of Lucerne was sleeping quietly 
without it. Over the whole of the Lake of Zug the mist was 
at first motionless, but in the breath of the morning it began 
slowly to move altogether towards the west, disclosing the 
village of Arth and the verdurous borders of the lake, and 
then uncovering its deep sea-green waters, which reflected 
the lovely sailing shadows of the clouds as a mirror.” 

“ Now the church bells began to chime under this body 
of mist, and voices from the invisible villages, mingled with 
the tinkle of sheep-bells, and the various stir of life awaken¬ 
ing from sleep, came stilly up the mountain. And now 
some of the mountain peaks themselves began suddenly to 
be touched with fleeces of cloud, as if smoking with incense. 
Detachments of mist began also to rise from the lakes and 
valleys, moving from the main body up into the air. The 
villages, chalets, and white roads, dotting and threading the 
vast circumference of landscape, come next into view. And 
now, on the Lake of Zug you may see reflected the shadows 
of clouds that have risen from the surface, but are them¬ 
selves below us. 

“ It is said you can see fourteen lakes from the place 
where we are standing. I counted at least twelve last even¬ 
ing, before the night-veil of the mist had been drawn above 
them, but this morning the scenes in the heavens have been 
too beautiful and grand to take the time for counting them ; 
and, besides, they are too much enveloped with the slow- 
retiring fogs to detect them. On the side of the Righi 
under the eastern horizon you behold the little Lake of 
Lowertz, with the ruins of the village of Goldau, destroyed 
by the slide of the Rossberg; and you trace distinctly the 
path of the destroying avalanche, the vast groove of bare 
rock where the mountain separated and thundered down 
the vale. A little beyond are the beautiful peaks of Schwytz, 
called the Mitres. All this wondrous panorama is before 
us. Whatever side we turn, new points of beauty are dis¬ 
closed ; and as the day advances, every image, fully defined, 
draws to its perfect place in the picture.” 

The descent of the Righi to Arth takes about or 3 
hours; about an hour’s walk from the summit the steepness 
of the path is interrupted, and the way leads for a mile along 
the side of a beautiful ravine. A village called Mary of the 
Snow (Marie zum Schnee), consisting of a few houses built 

H 


98 


THE RIGHI TO ARTH AND ZUG. 


round a church dedicated to the Virgin, lies within a short dis¬ 
tance of the Kulm. Its inns receive the excess of guests when 
the hotel at the summit is too crowded. It is chiefly inhabited 
by goatherds, guides, and the keepers of lodging-houses. 

Below Marie zum Schnee there are about a dozen small 
chapels, called the stations, each with its picture intended to 
represent some scene or event of Our Lord’s Passion. The 
largest of the number contains a wretched figure of Christ 
bearing the Cross. The path becomes steeper and rougher 
on approaching Goldau, owing to the loose nature of rock, 
a conglomerate or pudding-stone, from which pieces are 
constantly detached. To give a certain permanence to the 
road, the trunks of trees are imbedded in it at various 
stages, making a kind of wooden staircase to and from the 
Righi. Within a mile of Groldau the fields are strown with 
fragments of the opposite mountain, the Rossberg. 

The catastrophe to which the rent and scarred features of 
this mountain, as seen from this point, bear witness, was one 
of the most terrible natural convulsions in all the history of 
Switzerland. The strata of the rock forming the Rossberg 
lie in a plane greatly inclined, and shooting directly upon 
the spot where Goldau was built. The superficial side of 
the mountain, then forming a rich pasturage, and covered 
with cottages, chalets, flocks, and herds, suddenly fell into 
the valley. Four hundred and fifty-seven persons are said 
to have perished beneath this mighty avalanche. The place 
out of which it broke in the mountain is a thousand feet in 
breadth by a hundred feet deep, and this falling mass ex¬ 
tended bodily at least three miles in length. It shot across 
the valley with the swiftness of a cannon-ball, so that in five 
minutes the villages were all crushed as if they had been 
egg-shells, or the mimic toys of children. And when the 
people looked towards the luxuriant vale where the towns 
had lain smiling and secure, the whole region was a ruin. 

Dr. Lay, of Arth, published at Zurich, in 1807, a little 
work under the title “ Goldau and its Neighbourhood,” in 
which the best account of the fall of the Rossberg is given. 
In this catastrophe 111 houses were buried, besides churches 
and chapels. Several hundred head of cattle were destroyed, 
and a great loss to the commune was sustained by the anni¬ 
hilation of the vast extent of fine pasturage that lay upon 
the sides of the Rossberg. 


ZUG TO ZURICH. 


99 


Goldau (inn, Schwan, clean, comfortable, and moderate), 
is much smaller than was the village of which it inherits the 
name. The path here opens into the high road of Schwytz, 
and turns sharply to the left. From Goldau to Arth is about 
a mile and a half of down-hill walking. 

Arth (inns, Scliwarzen Adler and Schwert) is a village of 
about 2000 inhabitants. It lies in a very pleasant situation 
in a corner of the Lake of Zug, being closely jostled by the 
Righi and Rossberg. 

From Arth to Zug there is a good carriage-road, running 
along the narrow ledge between the mountains on the light 
and the lake on the left. The mountains, which near Arth 
are very steep and almost overhang the road, are clothed to 
their summits with fruit and forest-trees. 

The Lake of Zug is about eleven miles long by two and a 
half wide. The western and northern banks are level, and 
have a somewhat monotonous aspect, but the southern shore 
is fertile and well wooded. The best view of the lake is 
gained from the road, about four miles before coming to 
the town. 

FROM ZUG TO ZURICH, BY HORGEN. 

Zug (inns, Hirsch and Ochs) is a town of about 3000 
inhabitants, and capital of the canton of the same name, 
the smallest in the Confederation, and numbering only 
15,000 souls. It is most agreeably situated on the Lake of 
Zug, lying embosomed in gardens beneath the Zugerberg, 
and prettily variegated with forest and fruit-trees. The 
town has a quiet appearance, being without trade, and its 
inhabitants living entirely by agriculture. 

The churches of Zug are the objects best deserving of 
notice. That of St. Michael, which stands on an eminence 
about a quarter of a mile from the town, is the chief. Its 
cemetery in summer looks like a great bed of pink and white 
lilies, among which the bright gilt crosses which stand at 
the head of every grave have a very singular appearance. 
At the side of the cemetery there is a Golgotha, where skulls 
without number are piled up, each labelled with the name of 
its former owner. The interior is showy, but in bad taste. 
The church of St. Oswald has a treasury of images, crosses, 
salvers, and candlesticks, all of silver, which testify the 


100 


ZUG TO ZURICH. 


devotion of the successive generations which have inha¬ 
bited Zug. 

In the year 1435, after a loud report, an entire street of 
the town, with some towers and a part of the wall, fell into 
the lake. Sixty persons, among whom were Collin, presi¬ 
dent of the little republic, and Willard, the keeper of the 
archives, perished in the waters. The son of the latter was 
found floating in his cradle on the lake, and, being rescued, 
lived to old age, and became the progenitor of a race which 
has deserved well of the state. In 1594 several houses again 
fell into the lake, and in 1795 a great part of the town was 
consumed by fire. 

In the Arsenal at Zug is shown a number of arms and 
trophies which the little army of the republic have taken 
from the enemy, and also the banner of the town dyed with 
the blood of Peter Collin and his son, who fell together at 
the battle of Bellinzona, 1422. 

The best views of the neighbourhood are to be obtained 
from the tower of the Capuchins. The Righi and Mount 
Pilate occupy the foreground of the picture; between them 
are seen the heights of the canton of Unterwalden; and 
beyond these, in the regions of the clouds, the snowy Alps 
of the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. Not far from the 
town, on a height to the right of the Reuss, is one of the 
towers of the old castle of Hunenberg. In 1315, on the eve 
of the departure of the Austrian army for Egheri, Henry of 
Hunenberg found means to counsel the inhabitants of 
Schwytz to “ occupy the defile of Morgarten,” using for this 
purpose an arrow, which he shot to Arth, where his friends 
were keeping watch. Herman of Hunenberg having, on the 
contrary, taken the side of the Austrians against the Con¬ 
federation, destroyed the family castle after the battle of 
Sempach. 

From Zug, two routes to Zurich offer themselves to the 
traveller’s choice. One of these lies over the Albis, a moun¬ 
tain range running parallel to the Lake of Zurich, and com¬ 
manding, in clear weather, a most extensive view ; the other 
leading to Horgen, on the Lake of Zurich, from which point 
the journey is continued by steam-boat. The first will be 
found described in the route from Zurich to Lucerne. An 
omnibus runs to Horgen at a small fare. The road is new 
and well made, and the distance about thirteen miles. The 


ZURICH. 


101 


first part of the route leads to the bottom of the valley 
of Sihl, which is crossed by a bridge that connects the 
cantons of Zurich and Zug. The road is henceforth very 
steep on both sides of the lower Albis, but leads through a 
highly-cultivated and well-wooded country, abounding in 
rich slopes of pasture. 

Horgen (inns, Schwan and Lowe) is the place of em¬ 
barkation for Zurich, and nothing more. The voyage is 
made by steam in one hour on 

The Lake of Zurich. —The scenery on this lake is fine but 
less beautiful than that of Lucerne. On the southern shore, 
belonging to the canton of Schwytz, are seen pastures of the 
richest green, alternated with stripes of cultivated land and 
blooming orchards. Descending towards Zurich, the western 
bank slopes gently down to the lake, and is entirely covered 
with vineyards, gardens, meadows, and corn-fields, thickly 
studded with white cottages and country-houses. Behind 
this slope, and separated from it by a narrow valley, rise the 
rocky heights of the Albis, wooded to the summit. On the 
opposite or eastern bank, a plain stretches back for about 
two miles, laid out in gardens and meadows; among which 
bleaching and dye-houses, cotton and silk manufactories, are 
thickly sprinkled. The mountains of Glarus, the stately 
Glamisch, with his snowy crown, and the blue-jagged peaks 
that rise from St. Gall, form a background worthy of the 
picture. The lake itself is about twenty-five miles in length, 
and varies from two to three in width. A carriage-road 
borders it on either bank, and at Rapperschwyl a wooden 
bridge, above three-quarters of a mile long, connects the 
northern and southern shores. 

Zurich. —Inns : Couronne d’Or, on the Quay, clean and 
comfortable; Hotel Baur, one of the largest in Switzerland, 
charges moderate, a library and reading-room attached; 
Schwert; and Corbeau. 

Zurich, the capital of the canton, has been called the 
intellectual capital of Switzerland. Its manufacturing su¬ 
premacy is certainly incontestable. The inhabitants number 
about 15,000. The houses and streets of the inhabitants are 
scattered over a very wide space. In the most thickly in¬ 
habited parts of the town, where mills and manufactories 
stand on each side of the river, the streets are narrow and 
steep, and here and there traces of the ancient fortifications 


102 


ZU11ICH. 


are to be seen. Nearer the head of the lake the buildings 
grow larger and more handsome, and on the southern side 
of the great bridge the large houses, the paved footways, and 
the animation of the streets, speak for the rank of Zurich 
among the towns of Switzerland. 

The general aspect of situation of Zurich is one of natural 
beauty, everywhere improved and heightened by the hand of 
industry. The shores of the blue lake are covered with vine¬ 
yards, fruitful gardens, corn-fields, and cultivation of all 
kinds. Nowhere is a waste spot to be found; neat and 
cheerful dwellings, country-houses, and manufactories, ex¬ 
tend in all directions. The town has vastly improved since 
the old walls and bastions have been shattered and cast into 
the lake. On the ground^where the former wall stood, new and 
substantial buildings have been reared in modern taste, and 
surrounded with gardens and shrubberies. Rows of houses 
stretch away towards the mountains, and good public 
buildings, such as the cantonal school of the hospital, attest 
the progress of the town. 

The traveller, intent on staying any considerable time in 
Zurich, should hire a lodging in one of the near suburbs, 
where he may live both cheaply and agreeably. Zurich re¬ 
sembles Munich in the meeting of all ranks in its coffee¬ 
houses, where the reigning burgomaster, the count, the mili¬ 
tary officer, and the millionaire, may be found in unpretending 
intercourse. 

There are no great architectural monuments in Zurich to 
claim the stranger's attention. The Arsenal contains a 
large collection of ancient armour, and modern weapons, 
more than sufficient for all the men in the canton.. Among 
the trophies is a standard taken from Charles the Bold. A 
cross-bow, said to have belonged to William Tell, if equally 
authenticated, would be the most interesting relic in the 
collection. 

The City Library contains about 70,000 volumes. Here 
also are portraits of all the burgomasters that ever occupied 
the civic chair; a marble bust of Lavater; three letters 
from the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey to the reformer 
Bullinger; the Greek Bible of Zuinglius, and his portrait, 
with that of his daughter. 

The churches of Zurich are more remarkable for their 
associations than their grandeur or beauty. That called 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE. 


103 


the Great Minster was the scene of the labours of Ulrich 
Zuinglius. The reformer first preached here on the first 
day of the year, 1519. The house in which he lived yet 
stands on the Grosse Stadt. 

Lavater, who was a born Ziiricher, was for four-and-twenty 
years the minister of the church of St. Peter. In the 
taking of the town by the French under Massena, Sep¬ 
tember 26, 1799, he was wantonly shot by a French soldier, 
to whom he had just shown great kindness, and while he 
was in the act of comforting another of the invaders who 
was wounded. He lay for three months afterwards, suffer¬ 
ing great agony, and was buried in the churchyard of St. 
Anne. 

Having brought the tourist to Zurich, we must again re¬ 
turn to Berne as a starting-point for other excursions. 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 

This route, lying on the line between Geneva to Berne, is 
one of the most travelled in Switzerland. The Geneva dili¬ 
gence makes the journey in eleven hours, the distance being 
about fifty-four miles. There are posting-stations through¬ 
out its length. 

“ From Berne we hired a vehicle to convey us to Lau¬ 
sanne, staying one night on the road. The charge was 60 
francs, and 8 francs bonnemain. We left Berne at seven 
a.m., and arrived at Freiburg about half-past one o’clock. It 
would be advisable for travellers to leave earlier than we did; 
by so doing, they arrive at the Zahringer Hof in time to dine 
at the table d’hote. We arrived when dinner was half over; 
and as the organ at Freiburg plays directly after the table 
d’hote, you lose either dinner or music by arriving late. I 
should recommend persons who travel with a voiture from 
Berne to Lausanne to contrive to stay the night at Freiburg. 
Those who travel by diligence will be able to make the entire 
journey in the day.” 

For Freiburg the road leaves Berne by the handsome gate 
of Morat, the portals of which are surmounted by two enor¬ 
mous bears well carved in granite. For the first six or seven 
miles the road leads through a succession of large woods, 
from which the town derives its fuel. Beyond these the 



104 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 


country opens, and presents a picture of neatness and in¬ 
dustry; the rich enclosure of pasture-land and the well- 
cultivated fields having a somewhat English appearance. 

Neueneck (inn, Hirsch, good), a village situated on the 
Seuse, is remarkable as the scene of a defeat which a body 
of French sustained at the hands of some Swiss militia, in 
1798. The Swiss were only 2000 strong, but managed to kill 
or wound 1500 of the enemy, and take 18 pieces of cannon. 
They drove the French up the hill at the point of the bay¬ 
onet, and chased them from every position. No prisoners 
were made. The Swiss loss was 173 killed, and a great 
number wounded. It was on the same day that the Swiss 
repulsed the French atLaupen and Giimminen, but, after all, 
were compelled to surrender Berne. The Seuse here is about 
midway between Freiburg and Berne, and marks the separa¬ 
tion of these two cantons. 

From this point a change in the dress, agriculture, reli¬ 
gion, and inns is remarkable; the latter, at any rate, being 
for the worse. The language of the people, too, becomes di¬ 
vided, one half speaking French and the other German, and 
neither party being able to comprehend a single word uttered 
by the other. 

About four miles to the right main road is Laupen, situ ¬ 
ated at the confluence of the Seuse and the Saane. Here 
the Bernese achieved their first military victory shortly after 
the foundation of their republic, and under Rodolph of Erlach 
defeated the mailed nobility of Burgundy, Alsace, Suabia, 
with the prince-bishops of Sion, and Lausanne, and Basle; in 
all 1200 knights, leading an army of 1500 infantry. On the 
21st of June, 1339, Rodolph left Berne at the head of 4000 
Bernese, 900 men of Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden, 300 
men of Hasli, 300 from the Simmenthal, and 80 from Solo- 
thurn, and at midnight arrived at Bramberg, two miles from 
Laupen, which the enemy had been assailing. From this 
point, his rear protected by a forest, he could command the 
position of the enemy. Before the battle, an interlocution took 
place in the Homeric fashion between the leaders of the two 
armies. The Avoyer of Freiburg, in the course of the dialogue, 
said that the Bernese had swelled their ranks with women in 
disguise. Rodolph replied, that they would soon prove on 
which side were the men. The foremost of the Bernese then 
threw themselves upon the enemy, and were repulsed. The 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 105 

ranks behind thought that they fled, and were about themselves 
to give way. But Erlach exclaimed, cheerfully, “ Friends, 
the victory is ours! the cowardly among us are got rid of.” 
He then advanced with the banner of Berne in his hand, 
and after an hour’s terrific fighting the enemy took to flight. 
The ground from Oberwyl to Wyden was covered with the 
bodies of men, with horses, and with spoils. Eighty coronet- 
ted personages, all the chief people of Freiburg, 3000 foot 
soldiers, and 1500 horsemen, were left on the field of battle. 
In the feudal relations of those times D’Erlach, the Bernese 
leader, found himself opposed on the field of battle to Ro- 
dolph, count of Nydau, his superior lord. A few days before 
the encounter, D’Erlach went to the count, according to feu¬ 
dal custom, to ask permission to take the field. Rodolph 
haughtily conceded the request, observing, that “ he, who 
had 200 knights amongst his followers, could very well afford 
the loss of a ‘man.’” The count was slain in battle, 
and such was the confidence reposed in D’Erlach, that the 
relatives of the deceased noble constituted him guardian of 
the young heir and administrator of his estate. At Neueneck 
the road becomes very hilly for some distance: from the 
height gained by this ascent the Alps may be seen for a 
considerable distance on a fine day. On nearing Freiburg 
a surprise awaits the traveller. The wood suddenly turns 
a point on the declivity of the hill near the town, and the 
valley of the Saane is disclosed. On the opposite height 
is Freiburg. The large new building seen on the top of the 
hill is the Jesuits’ School. The old road by which alone 
Freiburg was formerly accessible from Berne led down into 
the deep valley of the Saane, and only reached the town 
after many toilsome circuits and ascents. We now, how¬ 
ever, cross the gorge by the long wire bridge, which is 
flung lightly across the valley like a thread. 

Freiburg (inns, Zahringer Hof, very good ; and Hotel des 
Marchands, good), the capital of the canton of the same 
name, has about 9000 inhabitants. It is built partly on the 
edge of the precipitous ravine (150 feet deep) of the Saane, 
and partly in the ravine itself, so that the people in the upper 
town look over the chimneys of their neighbours below. The 
lower town is occupied by the poorer German-speaking por¬ 
tion of the population. The upper town, on the hill side, 
where stands the Pensionat and the great Jesuit-house, is 


106 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 


inhabited by the richer classes, who eschew German and 
German ways. Like all Catholic towns, Freiburg abounds in 
churches and monasteries. The tower of its cathedral is 
386 feet high, the highest in Switzerland, and is remarkable 
for the delicacy and elegance of its architecture. 

The Hotel de Ville, a remarkable old building, stands on 
a site which was formerly that of the palace of the ancient 
dukes of Zahringen, the founders of Berne. 

The situation of the town, however, is more remarkable 
than any of its structures. The terrace of the Zahringen 
Hof commands the whole ravine, with the dark, narrow 
streets, and convents, in this singular hollow, and looks 
down upon the yellow Saane, winding beneath the suspen¬ 
sion bridge, and the ancient watch-tower perched upon the 
rocks above, the old world and the new looking face to face. 
The view from the Porte de Bourguillon well repays the 
trouble of the ascent thither. One stands here on a narrow 
isthmus about 250 feet wide, and has a precipice of more 
than double that extent on either hand. The town is built 
for the most part on a projecting rock opposite to this 
isthmus, and the walls on the north-east stand on the very 
verge of a precipice of 200 feet. At the foot of the precipices 
which form the Porte de Bourguillon, and at the base of the 
rock upon which the town is built, the river rushes in a 
winding stream. A gate and a short rampart across the 
wall of the isthmus form the Porte de Bourguillon. 

The street called Court Chemin, leading from the river to 
the upper town, is built on the face of the rock, and is re¬ 
markable from the fact, that the roofs of its houses form the 
pavement of a street above. 

Two suspension bridges span the ravine of the Saane. 
The largest, above 900 feet long, was completed in 1834. It 
was constructed by a company under the superintendence of 
the French engineer Chaley, and brings him a good income; 
for his remuneration is a percentage on the returns. 

The second and smaller was finished in 1840, and 
stretches across the defile of Gotteren, through which the 
old road to Berne was carried. The gorge itself is about 80 
feet wide, bordered on each side by sandstone rock, from 
250 to 300 feet high, and closed by an antique wall, which is 
continued some distance at the top of the c liff s, and termi¬ 
nates in curious and antique towers. 


BEENE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 


107 


In the centre of the town stands a tree, which was planted 
on the 28th June, 1476. Here, according to tradition, the 
youth who, wounded and bleeding, ran from Morat with the 
news of the victory gained there, fell exhausted and died. 
A branch of lime which he carried in his hand was at once 
planted, and flourished for centuries. The tree is still 
healthy, but reduced to the condition of a pollard. 

No stranger leaves Freiburg without visiting the cathedral 
to hear the new organ, the masterpiece of Aloys Moaser, 
who completed it in 1831. It has in all 64 stops, 7800 
pipes, 12 pairs of bellows. One of the stops is the most 
perfect imitation of the human voice which has yet been 
achieved. The organist, a man of talent, gives a represent¬ 
ation for travellers morning and evening. A fee, of course, 
is charged. The best way is to make one of a party, for 
which the fee is 11 francs. 

Freiburg is the stronghold of the Catholic and Jesuit 
party in Switzerland. Besides the Jesuits, there are in 
the town seventeen convents; a chapter, and five other 
religious corporations; 200 monks and a great number of 
nuns, 300 secular clergy, and a multitude of brotherhoods. 
The extremities to which the Jesuits advised the people of 
the canton, especially the formation of the Sonderbund, 
a separate league formed with the other Catholic cantons in 
1845, led to the advance of Federal troops upon the town. 
On the 14th November, 1847, Freiburg, notwithstanding that 
the government and priests had sworn by saints and angels 
to stand by the cause, surrendered without a blow. All was 
dejection and despair. The Federal authorities could not 
maintain among the troops the discipline and forbearance 
which they had promised, and the soldiery committed various 
excesses. Private houses were plundered, valuable pic¬ 
tures were pierced with bayonets, and the organ was sadly 
injured. 

Beyond Freiburg the journey to Lausanne may be con¬ 
tinued by either of three routes. The prettiest, by Yevay, is 
also the most circuitous ; the next, by Payerne, is only less 
indirect, and dull: the shortest, by Piomont, is a very bad 
road. 

Payerne (inns, Bar, and Hotel de Ville), a small towm, 
is in the canton de Yaud. “ Above all things, let no traveller 
be induced to sleep at Payerne, the most uninteresting of 


108 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 


all dull places; the only object they boast of being a side¬ 
saddle of Queen Bertha. The chief hotel, named after her, 
Hotel de la Bertha, is a bad inn, where the landlord has two 
sets of prices—one for English, another for natives, as we 
found out. I enclose bill. The charges are equal to those 
of the best hotels in Switzerland. We were glad to get 
away. We left soon after six the next morning, our object 
being to reach Lausanne in time for the steamboat to 
Geneva, which calls in the summer season at half-past 
two P.M.” 

About eight miles to the north of Payerne is Avenches, 
(German, Witlisburg, the Roman Aventicum, capital of Hel¬ 
vetia), where vast quantities of antiquities have been found. 
Near them is Morat, where the Swiss signally defeated the 
Burgundians under Charles the Bold, in 1476. 

The road to Lausanne begins at Payerne to ascend the 
valley of the Broie to Moudon: German, Milden. Inn, Hotel 
Victoria. 

The aspect of the country on the way is neat, but by no 
means peculiarly Swiss. Moudon is a place of some interest. 
The river Broie passes close to it, and there are two ancient 
and striking chateaux in its vicinity. In the Hotel de Ville 
there is a Roman inscription, which formed part of an altar, 
discovered in 1732. The inscription states that Quintus 
^Elius, a priest of Augustus, raised the altar in honour of 
Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and of Juno Regina. 

The remnant of the journey to Lausanne, about twelve 
miles in length, lies over the Jorat, a range of minor moun¬ 
tains which begin to rise near Lausanne. These mountains, 
which inclose the basin of the Rhone on the north-east, lie 
across the Pay de Vaud, and form a considerable part of its 
surface, connecting also the Alps with the Jura. The streams 
which fall on the northern side of this watershed flow to the 
ocean by the Broie, the Aar, and the Rhine; those of the 
southern slope are carried to the Mediterranean by the 
Rhone. 

“ After passing Moudon, the road begins gradually to 
ascend, to surmount the Jorat, a long and steep hill of 
seven miles. At the summit, a most glorious view of 
nearly the whole expanse of the Lake of Geneva can be seen 
at once, with the grand Alpine Chain, of which Mont 
Blanc forms the centre in the distance, and Lausanne lying 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 109 

at the foot: few prospects can equal it in beauty. A descent 
of five miles brought us to Lausanne.” 

Lausanne.— Hotels: H. Gibbon, Place St. Francois, one 
of the finest in Switzerland; H. du Fauyon, Rue St. Pierre, 
smaller, but very good; H. Bellevue, on the promenade of 
the Casino; H. de la Poste, Place St. Fran 5 ois; H. du Grand 
Pont, at the entrance of the Grand Chene and the Grand 
Pont; H. d’Angleterre, Rue St. Pierre; H. de France, Rue 
de St. Laurent. 

Strangers who desire to sojourn for some time in Lausanne, 
elsewhere than in an hotel, should apply for a permission de 
sejovr at the Bureau de Police, which is on the ground-floor 
of the Hotel de Ville, Place de la Palud. It is open every 
morning from eight till noon, and again from two to five, 
P.M. 

The Bureau des Passeports is at the Prefecture, at the 
extremity of the Place de la Palud, second floor. It is open 
every day from eight till twelve, and from two till seven. 

Lausanne, capital of the canton of Vaud, and, after Geneva, 
the most important in French Switzerland, contains about 
12,000 inhabitants. It is easy to perceive that it has been 
built in detached portions, which have only been recently 
united, and have been allowed to extend in a most irregular 
form. The ground on which it stands is irregular and broken; 
hence it seems a confused labyrinth of streets, houses, 
churches, terraces, and gardens, distributed as it were by 
chance. The government, as well as private individuals, 
has made the most laudable efforts to improve and beautify 
the town, and great ameliorations have been effected. A 
deep valley runs through Lausanne, dividing it into the upper 
and lower towns ; the latter lying parallel with the lake. 
The two are connected by a large bridge, which spans 
the ravine between the two hills. The Roman Lausonium 
was built at the base of the hills, where the undulations of 
the Jorat are lost in the plain of Vidi. The modern town 
was built after the ruin of the ancient city, and, like most 
middle-age cities, rose around a sacred spot, and under 
the protection of the church. The fine cathedral terrace, 
then covered with wood, was the site of its first edifice. 
The situation of Lausanne is more than sufficient to 
compensate for the defects of its construction. Its eleva¬ 
tion above the lake makes it healthier than Geneva, and 


110 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 


places it in view of a very extensive range of delightful 
scenery. From the terrace of the cathedral, the mountains 
to the east and south present their most majestic aspect; 
their details are lost in distance, summits are grouped toge¬ 
ther, valleys disappear, and the slopes of the mountains form 
a zone of various colours, which are reflected in the lake. 
To the west, every object takes a softer tint, and a form less 
severe. The horizon enlarges; the lake, less narrowly con¬ 
fined between its banks, extends like the surface of a mirror 
surrounded with verdant festoons. Villages without number 
cover the lands, which everywhere display the riches of a 
most varied culture. The Jura encloses a great part of this 
landscape; only one feature is wanting in the panorama, 
which in a space of thirty leagues embraces almost every 
description of landscapes which are to be admired in Savoy 
and Switzerland—Mont Blanc is not visible from Lausanne, 
being concealed by the Alps of Chablais. About two miles 
above the town, however, near the culminating point of 
the Jorat, Mont Blanc, and the whole chain of the moun¬ 
tains of Taveigny, are seen. 

The amphitheatre formed by the slopes which descend 
from Lausanne to Lake Leman is covered with vineyards, 
lawns, pleasure-grounds, and gardens, which are studded 
with villas and elegant residences; some scattered freely 
over the space, others bordering the lake. Two roads which 
descend from the town, one towards Vidy, the other towards 
Bully, trace an arc around the space thus occupied, the 
chord of which is the sinous line of the north shore, or the 
road which follows its length. On the bank, or small pro¬ 
montory, is the site of Ouchy, the port of Vaud; a little 
place which is not a village, and yet more than a hamlet, for 
it has shops, merchants’ offices, and a custom-house ; it 
serves for the port of Lausanne and the canton of Vaud. A 
jetty, constructed in masonry on the west of the promontory, 
makes Ouchy a very good harbour. Its high tower, which 
is seen at a considerable distance, once was part of a strong 
castle, built in the thirteenth century by the bishops of Lau¬ 
sanne to protect the port from the incursions of pirates. In 
the Hotel de l’Ancre, which now has an English landlady, 
Byron wrote in two days his “ Prisoner of Chillon.” The 
farms and country-houses scattered to the west of Ouchy, 
above the bay formed by the little promontories of Ouchy 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 


Ill 


and the Maladikre, are called the Cours. One of these houses, 
situated on a little hill, surrounded by some old trees, is 
Montrined, sometime the dwelling of Voltaire. 

From Ouchy to Lausanne the road is steep ; the chapel 
by the wayside is used for English worship. Among the 
villas which are seen to the left is that of St. Luce, the pro¬ 
perty of Madame Larochejacquelin; that of Beausejour, which 
commands the road, was in 1802 the retreat of the Hel¬ 
vetic government, driven from Berne, and pursued by insur¬ 
gent Federalists. Two years before, Bonaparte, about to cross 
the St. Bernard, lodged here. Among the houses of Lau¬ 
sanne which are seen from the Ouchy road, is that in which 
Gibbon composed the later volumes of his “ Decline and 
Fall." It was in the “ garden of four acres, laid out by 
M. Deyverdun,” in front of this residence, that the his¬ 
torian experienced that tender melancholy of a liberal mind, 
which he so affectingly confesses in his autobiography:— 

“ It was on the day, or rather night of the 27th of June, 
1787, between the hours of eleven and twelve, that I wrote 
the last lines of the last page in a summer-house in my 
garden. After laying down my pen, I took several turns in 
a berceau , or covered walk of acacias, which commands a 
prospect of the country, the lake, and the mountains. The 
air was temperate, the sky was serene, the silver orb of the 
moon was reflected from the waters, and all nature was 
silent. I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the 
recovery of my freedom, and perhaps the establishment of 
my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober 
melancholy was spread over my mind by the idea, that I 
had taken an everlasting leave of an old and agreeable 
companion, and that whatever might be the future fate of 
my history, the life of the historian must be short and 
precarious.” 

The house in which the two friends resided still bears 
the name of the Grotto, but the garden has been sadly in¬ 
vaded to give space to the Hotel Gibbon. The berceau of 
acacias is gone, sacrificed to the demands of comfort-loving 
Englishmen. 

The Faubourg du Chene leads from the Hotel Gibbon to 
the long, grassy, and planted esplanade of Montbenon. A 
little belvidere, which rises at the entrance of the esplanade, 


112 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 


commands a view of the entire basin of the lake. Mont- 
benon is military exercise-ground, as well as the promenade 
of Lausanne. On one side the ground, covered with farms 
and villas, slopes in gentle undulations down to the lake; 
and on the other, by a deeper declivity, to the verdant ravine 
of the Flon. At the extremity of Montbenon a road leads 
to the Cours by the Petit Languedoc, while the Genevan 
road, after traversing the promenade, descends from hill to 
hill down to the Pont de la Maladiere, and the plain of 
Vidy. Beyond the Maladiere, near the shore, and in the 
place which tradition assigns to the ancient Lausonium, the 
patriot Davel, whose memorial is seen in the cathedral, was 
executed, after having failed in his enterprise for securing 
the liberties of Iris countrymen. 

Prom the plain of Vidy we may ascend to Lausanne by 
keeping the right bank of the Plon, and afterwards taking 
either of the shady roads which wind along the sides of the 
hills : one among the villas of the Bois de Vaud, Malley, 
Sebeillon, Violette, and Boston; the other along the Benen 
sur Roches, Prelaz, and Valency. The two routes unite at 
the entrance of Lausanne, and enter the town by the Pont 
Pichard. 

The Great Causeway, or Pont Pichard, is 1800 metres in 
length. The viaduct is carried by two superposed rows of 
arches, five being in the lower and nineteen in the upper 
tier. Owing to the openness of the arches, the structure has 
a light and agreeable appearance. The cost of the under¬ 
taking was 500,000 French francs, including the purchase of 
ground and indemnities. A marble tablet bearing an in¬ 
scription is seen on one of the pillars in the middle of the 
bridge; it is a memorial of Adrien Pichard, the engineer 
of the causeway. The bridge leads to the Place de St. 
Fran<;ois, in front of the Post-Office, and in the midst of 
several hotels, among them the H6tel Gibbon. The build¬ 
ing with blackened walls seen here is the Temple or Church: 
it was built in 1442. 

The hilly streets of Bourg and St. Pierre are the pro¬ 
longation of the Place St. Frangois, inhabited formerly by the 
noblesse of Vaud and the merchants of Lausanne; they form 
still the best portion of the town. The houses have terraces 
and gardens richly cultivated, and command an admirable 


BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREIBURG. 


113 


view in the direction of the Leman. A new road, constructed 
in order to avoid by a detour the steep hill of the street, is 
carried under the terraces, and below the road the beautiful 
promenade of Derriere Bourg is prolonged. The Rue St. 
Pierre terminates at the Hotel du Fau^on, and ramifies into 
two faubourgs, those of Etraz and Martheray, one on the 
road to Berne, the other on that to Yevay. 

The road to Yevay is commanded by the rich campagnes 
of Yillamont, Monrepos, Montalegre, and Bellevue. The 
house of Monrepos, is no longer that where Voltaire, as the 
“ bon homme Lusignan ,” drew tears from Swiss eyes ; where 
tragedy was played “ by beautiful women and handsome 
men, better than at Paris;” where Voltaire was one day so 
enchanted with the acting of M. and Mme. D’Hermenches, 
that, drawing up his chair unconsciously, and by degrees, he 
found himself at last fairly on the stage between Zaire and 
Orosmane, so as to prevent the poignard-stroke, and stop 
the action of the play. The villa, then the property of the 
Marquis de Langalerie, has been entirely rebuilt by its pre¬ 
sent proprietor, M. Perdonnet. On the Vevay road are seen 
the Rosiere, the residence of Louis Buonaparte, king of 
Holland in 1813. At Beausite, further on, Kemble died, in 
1823. The shady valley of Chamblande is prolonged in this 
direction as far as Pully. 

The Cathedral of Lausanne is its principal public building; 
it is large, and, architecturally, the finest Gothic edifice in 
Switzerland: the want of coloured windows, pictures, or 
altar gives it a cold appearance. It contains the remains of 
St. Bernard, founder of the celebrated Hospice which bears 
his name. 

Steamers .—The Leman, 80, Helvetia, 120, and Aigle, 80- 
horse power low-pressure iron steamers, make the passage 
from Geneva to Villeneuve in 4^ hours, touching at Ouchy, 
and calling also at Yevay, Morges, Rolle, Nyon, and Cappet. 
Omnibuses, which call at the principal hotels, convey pas¬ 
sengers to and from the steamer for half a franc, or with 
luggage, one franc. There are in summer two departures 
a-day, both from Ouchy to Geneva and Ouchy to Villeneuve. 
In spring and summer there is but one departure in each 
direction, and in winter the sendee is suspended. Tables 
indicating the hours of arrival and departure of the steamers 
are found at all the hotels. Omnibuses for Aigle, Bex, and 

I 


114 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


the baths of Levey await the arrival of the steamer at Ville- 
neuve. 

Omnibuses. —For Yevay: at seven and eleven a.m., from 
No. 2 Rue de Bourg; and at three and five p.m., from the 
Lion d’Or, Rue de Bourg. For Morges : at ten a.m. and one 
and five p.m., from the Hotel de Soleil, Place St. Francois. 
For Yverdon : at six a.m. (at hours corresponding with the 
steam-boat on the Lake of Neuchatel, when the boat is run¬ 
ning on that lake), and at three p.m., from No. 1 Rue des 
Terreaux. For Orbe: at three p.m., from the Grand Chene 
No. 23. For Moudon: at three p.m., from No. 6 Rue St. 
Pierre. For Payerne: at three p.m., from No. 18 Rue St. 
Frampois. When the steamer does not run on Lake Leman, 
one omnibus leaves Lausanne for Geneva daily, from No. 22 
Rue de Bourg. 

Diligences. —For Paris, by Pontarber, every day at mid¬ 
night. For Italy daily, at midnight. St. Maurice, in summer, 
a quarter past four; in winter, at three o’clock p.m. Berne 
at Freiburg daily, at seven p.m. (Messagerie), in summer, 
ten ; in winter, eight a.m. Geneva daily, at midnight; a 
second departure in summer, at four; in winter, at two p.m. 
Neuchatel and Yverdon, in summer, at a quarter to ten a.m. 
(coinciding with the service for St, Croix and the Yal de 
Travers) ; in winter, eleven a.m. ; a second departure every 
evening at seven. 

GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 

Geneva.— Hotels: H. des Bergues, Quai des Bergues ; 
views over the bridge, Rousseau’s Isle, the Quai du Rhone, 
the lake, and the Alps ; table d'hote at ten, one, and five 
o’clock; restaurant a la carte. H. de la Couronne, at the 
end of the Quai du Rhone: a good house and cuisine ; view 
of the lake and both its banks; table d’hote at one, five, and 
eight p.m. H. de l’Ecu de Geneva, Place du Rhone ; well 
kept; view of the lake ; table d’hote at five, 4 francs. H. de 
la Balance, Rue du Rhone 57; was formerly the most 
fashionable in the town, and is still a good house; table 
d’hote at one, five, and eight p.m., at 3 francs; rooms, 1 to 3 
francs. H. du Grand Aigle, Rhone 91, opposite the landing- 
place of the steam-boat; table d'hote at live p.m. ; quiet and 
comfortable. PI. du Rhone, Rhone 181 ; rooms, from 1^ to 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


115 


3 francs ; persons may be served a la carte, or live en pension 
by the month. H. du Lion d’Or, Rhone 87, newly fur¬ 
nished ; table d’hote at noon, 2 fr. 50c.; at five p.m. 3 fr.; 
chambers, 1 and 2 fr. H. du Lac, Rhone 169 ; view of the 
lake and the Alps. H. de l’Europe, Place de la Grenette ; 
table d’hote at half-past twelve and at five o’clock. H. des 
Etrangeres aux Paquis, half a mile outside the town ; very 
good ; baths ; horses and carriages ; boats for a row on the 
lake. 

Strangers who purpose to make any considerable stay, 
and wish to avoid unnecessary expense, will do well to 
place themselves en pension. They should on their arrival 
apply for a permission de sejour, at the Departement de 
Police et Justice (H6tel de Ville, 29), stating the house in 
which they propose to reside. The permits, available for 
three, six, or twelve months, cost from 2 to 3 francs per 
quarter. Changes of habitation must be registered, but for 
this no charge is made. The law renders the aubergistes 
and householders responsible for the observance of these 
regulations. 

Travellers are not subject to any custom-house visitations, 
nor do their effects pay any duty. On entering the town 
they are required to place their passports in the hands of 
the police (Bureau de Police, Hotel de Ville, No. 28). This 
measure is rendered necessary by the peculiar position of 
Geneva on the frontier of three states. The papers thus 
deposited may be withdrawn at any time on application, the 
traveller stating the place of his destination. The vise of 
the police of Geneva is gratuitous. Persons going to Savoy 
and Chamonix have to procure the vise' of the Sardinian 
Consul, for which they are charged 4 francs. The Geneva 
Bureau des Passeports (Hotel de Ville, No. 28) is open 
every day (not a holiday) from 9 a.m. till 4 in the afternoon; 
on Sundays from 9 to 10 in the morning, and every day from 
9 to 10 in the evening. . 

Geneva, though the canton of which it is the capital is, 
with one exception (Zug), the smallest of the Confederation, 
is the largest town in Switzerland, containing, with its 
suburbs, 36,000 inhabitants. The town occupies the de¬ 
clivities of two hills, in the centre of a basin formed by the 
approach of the Jura to a secondary chain of the Alps, at the 
place where Lake Leman terminates in an elongated point , 


116 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


and the Rhone, emerging from it, resumes its course. The 
town is built chiefly on the left, or southern bank of the 
river ; that portion on the opposite side is called Quartier St. 
Gervais. On approaching Geneva the stranger encounters 
a certain air of ease and prosperity by no means usual in 
Switzerland, the houses are well built, the roads wide and 
well kept, and all bespeaks an active and earnest people. 

By the road from Chambery the houses of the Rue Beau¬ 
regard, the Rue dej’Hotel deYille, and the Rue des Granges, 
have a grandiose appearance; hut the side of the lake is 
that on which Geneva is seen to most advantage, the quay 
of the Rhdne being bordered with a fine row of new houses 
of considerable size and regularity. The outline of Geneva 
may he compared to that of an egg, of which the smallest 
end would be formed by the quartiers of St. Gervais and des 
Bergues, with the Rhone flowing through, and obliquely 
intersecting the whole. A narrow isle divides the river into 
five arms for a length of about 240 yards. Enclosed from 
the epochs of the Reformation until 1850, in the narrow 
enceinte of its walls, Geneva was fortified, at the commence¬ 
ment of the last century, on the system of Vauban—a circum¬ 
stance which has evidently contributed to the elevation of the 
houses, which, like those of the old town of Edinburgh, rise 
to a considerable height. Although the place was not in 
a condition to withstand a regular siege, its fortifications 
saved it several times from a coup-de-main , especially in 
1792, 1814, and 1815. This consideration was of great 
weight with a number of the citizens ; but after the revolu¬ 
tion of 1846 the victorious party ordered the demolition of 
the works, and their destruction began in the month of 
December, 1849. Geneva is now an open town: two sus¬ 
pension bridges hang over the site of the fortifications. 
Under the old republic the gates of the town were closed 
at night, and not opened for any one on whatever plea. 
Jean Jacques RousSeau,, who was son of a watchmaker 
of Geneva, returning to the town one evening, in his six¬ 
teenth year, saw the drawbridge fall when but a dozen paces 
from it, and not daring to show himself to the harsh master 
to whom he was apprenticed, took to flight. He was received 
by the Cure of Confignon, who recommended him to Madame 
de Warrens of Annecy, and this circumstance determined the 
future course of his life. The approaches of the fortifications 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


117 


have been converted, in almost their entire length, into 
agreeable promenades. 

The Cathedral, or St. Peter’s Church, is a Gothic building 
of the twelfth century, and stands on the most elevated spot 
in the town ; its three towers form a prominent feature in 
every view of Geneva, and are visible at a great distance. 
The exterior of the edifice is only remarkable for a peristyle 
of Grecian architecture, executed in 1749. This flagrant 
anachronism, after all, does not want a certain grandeur of 
appearance. The interior of the church is well proportioned, 
hut naked. The form is that of a Latin cross elongated from 
west to east. Its length is 202, and breadth 67 feet. The 
transept has a length of 121 feet. On the pavement of the 
nave may be seen the epitaphs of several canons of the 
cathedra], who died before the Eeformation. In the wall, on 
the right-hand side of the church, not far from the great 
door, is the memorial in black marble of Theodore Agrippa 
d’Aubigne, an ancestor of Madame de Maintenon, and an 
officer of Henry IY. In the ancient chapel of the Holy 
Virgin is the tomb of Duke Henri de Bohan, leader of the 
Protestants under Louis XIII., one of the best Avarriors of 
his age, slain at the siege of Eheinfeld in Germany, in 1638. 
The stalls of the cathedral are good illustrations of Floren¬ 
tine sculpture in the moyen age. The painted windoAvs of 
the choir date from the fifteenth century, and represent five 
Apostles and Mary Magdalene. The coloured glass in the 
two great roses of the north and south, as well as in the 
lower side-windows, was placed there in 1835, on the occa¬ 
sion of the Eeformation Jubilee. The choir has lately been 
restored at the charge of the municipality. The transept 
supports three towers, of which the tallest is 136 feet in 
height. In the north tOAver there is a belvidere, from which 
a magnificent view is gained. The clock called Clemence 
(after the name of Clement VII., the antipope), a gift of 
Bishop William de Lornay, is shown here. The old chapel 
of the Maccabees, founded by Jean de Boigny about 1404, 
flanks the cathedral on the right. 

The oldest church in Geneva is that of La Madeleine, 
built in the tenth century, and recently restored. The 
churchyard of St. Gervais contains the remains of the 
seventeen heroes of the escalade of 1602. 


118 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


The Hotel cle Ville, a specimen of Florentine architec¬ 
ture, has a paved staircase ascent, by which the highest 
story may he reached on horseback, or even in a small car¬ 
riage. Near the summit is placed the reservoir of the 
hydraulic machine. It Avas before this edifice that the 
“ Emile” of Rousseau was burnt by the hands of the com¬ 
mon hangman in 1762, in compliance Avith an order of the 
Petit Conseil of Geneva. 

The Arsenal in front of the Hotel de Ville contains a col¬ 
lection of ancient armour, including a number of cuirasses 
abandoned by the Savoyards at the escalade in 1602, and 
also a scaling-ladder, and a loaded petard which still remains 
undischarged. 

The Public Library in the College building, entered by the 
Rue Verdaine, 281, was founded by Bonivard, the “ Pri¬ 
soner of Chillon,” avIio presented to it all his books. It 
contains 40,000 volumes, and about 300 manuscripts. As 
might be expected, it is particularly rich in old theological 
works, and possesses a collection of autograph letters by 
Calvin, his successor Theodore Beza, Farrel, Viret, and 
others, relating to the Reformation. There is also in the 
collection a copy of Augustine’s homilies, AATitten on papyrus 
in the sixth century; a translation of Quintus Curtius, 
found among the baggage of Charles the Bold after the 
battle of Grandson; a beautiful manuscript of the four 
Evangelists; a fragment of the household book of Philip 
the Fair, and other cuiiosities. It is open daily (Thursdays 
excepted), from 1 to 2 for the exchange of books, and from 
11 till 4 for readers and visitors. 

The Musee Rath, which originated in the munificence of 
General Rath, is near the Porte Neuve. As a collection it 
is very inferior. There are, however, tAvo landscapes by 
Salvator Rosa (99 and 100) ; a “ Smoker,” by Teniers, 
(117) ; and the “Entombment,” by Paul Verronese (125). 
The other pictures are chiefly by native artists. 

The Botanic Garden, formed in 1816 by the celebrated De 
Candolle, is Avell kept, and contains about 5000 species of 
plants. The fa?ade of the orangery displays the busts of the 
most distinguished naturalists of Geneva. The bronze bust 
of De Candolle by Pradier Avas set up in 1845, in front of the 
orangery: unfortunately, it bears little resemblance to the 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


119 


great botanist. The conservatory possesses numerous 
herbaries, among them that of the celebrated Haller. The 
Botanic Garden is a fine promenade, and in summer a place 
of great resort. It is open every day to the public. 

The Theatre, Place Neuve, is open Sundays, Tuesdays, 
and Thursdays, for vaudeville and comic opera. The prices 
are—parterre, 1 franc 50 cents ; stalls, 4 francs ; premieres, 
3 francs; loges grillees, 2 francs; seconder, 1 franc 25 
cents; troisifemes, 80 cents. As a rule, the theatre is only 
open in winter. 

The Belief of Mont Blanc, Place de Grenette, the work of 
M. Sene, is executed in lime-wood, on the scale of a line to 
45 feet. It represents an extent of 243 square leagues : the 
peak of Mont Blanc in this model has a natural height of 
31§ inches. The Mer de Glace has a length of 3 feet. The 
number of trees planted in the model is 400,000, and that of 
houses 5000. The Belief may be viewed in summer every 
day from 1 till 5; on Thursdays, gratuitously. 

In a descriptive tour of the town we may take our depar¬ 
ture from the suspension bridge called the Pont des 
Bergues, in front of the hotel of the same name on the right 
bank of the Blione. This bridge, which is 244 feet in 
length, was constructed in 1832. From a little platform at 
its summit another bridge leads to the lie des Barques, or 
Bousseau’s Isle; an irregular pentagon, which recently 
formed a part of the fortifications of Geneva. A pretty 
walk has been made here, in the middle of which rises a 
statue of Jean Jacques cast in bronze, and placed on a pedes¬ 
tal of polished Alpine granite. After passing over the second 
part of the bridge we gain the Grand Q.uai. This quay, com¬ 
pleted in 1833, is bordered with a range of good and lofty 
houses, the lower portions of which are used as warehouses, 
shops, and cafes, and extends as far as the Port du Com¬ 
merce. The erection of these houses has totally changed 
the aspect of Geneva from the Blione, which was a few years 
ago disfigured by a row of ugly wooden buildings. The Port 
du Commerce is small, badly sheltered, and only fit to ac¬ 
commodate the barques which navigate the lake on dis¬ 
charging their cargoes. At the extremity of the quay, a 
Gothic-looking pillar contains a limnimetre, or apparatus for 
measuring the height of the waters of the lake. 

From the end of the Grand Quay, turning to the right, 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


P40 


and proceeding along the Place de Longemalle, the Rue de 
Rive, the Place du Yieux College, and the rampart of St. 
Antoine, we gain the promenade of St. Antoine. The ter¬ 
race, which terminates it on the north, commands the best 
view which is anywhere to be gained of the town ; and the 
lower part of the Lake Leman, or the little lake, is seen in 
its entire extent. At our feet is the Penitentiary, and on 
our right the populous faubourg of Eaux Yives. The entire 
space occupied by the fortifications, comprised between the 
extremity of the quay and the faubourg of Eaux Yives, was 
levelled in 1849-50, and anew quarter is rapidly rising there. 
Passing down the promenade, in front of the Observatory 
constructed in the bastion of St. Antoine, we arrive by a little 
bridge at the Promenade du Bastion du Pier. From the 
height of the esplanade at the tete of the suspension bridge 
the view embraces almost all the opposite side of the basin. 
The mountain of Sal&ve, with its grey and bald flanks, limits 
the view in the east; the Yuache is seen in the south, and 
the Jura in the west. The plain which extends between the 
mountains is undulating, and well cultivated: we distinguish 
thei'e St. Julien, the frontier of Savoy, much nearer the little 
town of Carouge, and lastly, the suburban houses of Plain 
Palais, with the elegant spire of the Protestant Church above 
them; and to the right, the cliffs of the Rhone and the 
heights of St. Jean. 

We descend into the bastion Bourgeois, a sombre prome¬ 
nade, shaded with some good trees. An iron gate separates 
it from the little park, in which stands the residence of 
M. Eynard, the philhellenist, from the Botanic Garden. We 
now reach the Place Neuve; the building on our right is 
the theatre, built towards the close of the last century; on 
the left, the Porte Neuve; in front of us is the Musee Rath, 
or Museum of the Fine Arts, a cramped-looking edifice of 
Grecian architecture. Ascending the hill on our right we 
reach the promenade of La Treille, a favourite resort of 
invalids on account of its southern aspect. It extends as 
far as the Hotel de Yille, the entrance of which, however, is 
on the opposite side. We are not now two minutes’ walk 
from the Cathedral, the Casino, the Maison de Detention, 
the Hospital, and the Public Library. 

The upper portion of the town is more especially in¬ 
habited by the aristocratic and financial notabilities, whence 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


121 


these are called gens du haute , in opposition to the bourgeoisie 
and poorer classes who inhabit the lower quartiers. De¬ 
scending from the Treille we re-enter the Place Neuve, and 
pass down the Rue de la Corraterie. The southern side of 
the street is formed of a line of fine houses, built on an 
uniform plan in 1828. It is terminated by an edifice of very 
singular architecture, erected on foundations originally in¬ 
tended for a covered market. At present it accommodates 
the post-office, the gendarmerie, and some schools. The 
little quay which borders it leads to the suspension bridge of 
la Coulonverriere. The Place de Bel-Air, at which we are 
now arrived, was cleared in 1670 by a terrible fire. Crossing 
one of the bridges, we are at the Quartier de l’lle. The 
construction of the tower under which we pass is popularly 
attributed to Julius Caesar; it was, however, built at the 
commencement of the thirteenth century, possibly on 
Roman foundations. It formed part of the Chateau de 
l’lle, which the Counts and Dukes of Savoy held as a fief of 
the bishop for more than three centuries. Under its walls 
the patriot Berthelier was beheaded in 1519. The Quartier 
de l’Ue communicates with other parts of the town by four 
wooden bridges, two on the left and two on the right arm of 
the river. 

Having passed one of the last, we arrive at the place 
St. Gervais, below the Rue de Coutance. On our right the 
Quay des Bergues, finished in 1843, and bordered with 
fine new houses, commences. About the middle of its 
length the Place de Chevela opens, ornamented with a 
fountain. In front is a bridge for pedestrians. This bridge 
passes in front of the hydraulic machine, which we see 
above the isle on the right arm of the river. A hundred 
steps further on is the bridge des Bergues, whence we 
started. All that portion of the town which borders the 
river is most pleasant in its aspect; and yet, twenty years 
ago, the Quartier des Bergues was but a marshy garden. 
The streets behind, however, are still exceedingly narrow 
and ill-built. 

We have only to take a glance of that part of the town 
which lies between the crest of the hill and the Quai du 
Rhone. We first traverse the rue du Rhone, where most of 
the hotels are situated, and parallel with the quay. The 
Rues Basses are a succession of large and busy streets. 


122 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


where the market is held, and in which the trading popu¬ 
lation is concentrated. From the place Bel-Air the Hotel 
de Yille may be reached, by ascending the Rue de la Cite 
and the Grand Rue. The Rue de l’Hotel de Yille, the Bourg 
de Four, and the Rue de la Chaudronniers, lead almost in a 
straight line to the promenade of St. Antoine. The re¬ 
maining streets between these and the Rues Basses are 
crooked, narrow, and dirty, and merit no attention. 

The entire town is lighted rvith gas by night, aud nume¬ 
rous fountains play in squares and other public places. A 
recent law has united to the commune of Geneva a portion 
of the suburban commune of Petit-Sacconnex. 

The rides and walks which otfer themselves in the imme¬ 
diate vicinity of Geneva are very numerous. The following 
are some of the principal:—The Tranchees, between the 
Portes Neuve and Rive. The view from the north Tranchee 
is very fine, and more extensive than that of St. Antoine. 
The plain of Plainpalais, a large swarded space, surrounded 
with a double row of trees, and bordered with houses and 
gardens, serves as the parade-ground of the militia. The 
Protestant Cemetery, at the northern extremity of Plain¬ 
palais, is laid out as a garden or shrubbery; it contains the 
tombs of Sir Humphry Davy and De Candolle. The Catholic 
Cemetery is close to it. Behind them are the ‘gardens, 
which supply the town with vegetables, covering the tongue 
of land which separates the Arve from the Rhone. A little 
path is carried round the border of this stripe by the side of 
the streams. 

The Bois de la Batie is an elevated plateau, commanding 
a view of the confluence of the Rhone and Arve. Its fine 
timber trees were cut down by the Austrians in 1814. 

Carouge (Inns, Eau de Savoie and Olivier de Provence), 
is about a mile from the town on the Arve, and has a popu¬ 
lation of 5000. It was raised to the rank of a town in 1786 
by the King of Sardinia, who wished to make of it a rival of 
Geneva. The stone bridge, erected in 1811 under the 
French rule, is a handsome structure. The town is well 
built, and contains several manufactories. Omnibuses run 
hourly on the road, which at night is lighted with gas. 

Les EauxYives is a populous faubourg on the left shore of 
the lake going out by the Rue de Rive, on the quay. At the 
end of the Rue de Rive the road of Hermance leads to 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


123 


Cologny (Colonia Allobrogum), a pretty village, less than 
two miles from Geneva. The view from this road is delight¬ 
ful. Formerly Cologny had an important i>rinting-office. It 
was successively the residence of Milton and Byron. The 
latter inhabited the Campagne Diodati (1816), and there 
wrote “ Manfred” and the third canto of “ Childe Harold.” 
The Diodati villa is now the locale of an orthopoedic and 
therapeutic institution. Hermance is the frontier of the 
canton, and formerly had the rank of a town. 

Ferney, the celebrated residence of Voltaire, is distant 
about five miles from Geneva, on the French territory. An 
omnibus runs thither hourly in summer, by the road to Gex, 
passing over a height which commands one of the best 
views of Mont Blanc. It was in 1759 that Voltaire quitted 
his country-house “ Les Delices,” and acquired the fiefs of 
Toumay and Ferney. When he came to reside there in 
1759, he found only a few wretched hovels, but from that 
date, whether owing to the activity which he displayed or the 
numerous society which was attracted there by his renown, 
Ferney increased rapidly; so that in 1777, when he left for 
Paris, where he was shortly to end his career, it counted 
1200 inhabitants. The chateau built under his direction 
is situated on a height to the left of the high road. The 
fa5ade, which fronts the road instead of looking out towards 
the best view, is long, without depth, and has no archi¬ 
tectural pretensions. The saloon and sleeping-chamber of 
Voltaire, which, until 1815, had been permitted to remain in 
the state in which he had left them, were then appropriated 
to a new destination. A mausoleum in terra cotta, set up by 
the Marquise de Villette, and intended to contain the heart 
of the poet, is shown. This singular monument was defaced 
by the Austrians in 1815. The following sentences are in¬ 
scribed on it: “ Mes manes sont consoles puisque mon 
cceur est au milieu de vous and “ Son esprit est partout 
et son coeur est ici.” The study and library are also shown. 
The poet had had a terrace raised to the level of the former 
room, in which he was in the habit of stepping out and walk¬ 
ing very fast when deeply engaged in composition. In the 
garden is shown the berceau under which he used to dictate 
his letters to his secretary. The theatre, formerly on the 
left side of the court, has been pulled down; as likewise has 
the church, which bore the inscription, “Deo erexit Vol- 


124 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


taire,” and in which the Encyclopedist officiated in person. 
In the grove near the house is an elm planted by Yoltaire : 
it was struck by lightning in 1842. An old gardener who 
had known Voltaire, and who died in 1845, used to exhibit to 
strangers a morsel of the poet’s robe, his stick, a cap of grey 
silk brocaded with gold and silver, and a collection of the 
seals of Voltaire's principal correspondents : his son now 
possesses these curiosities. The chateau of Ferney is the 
property of M. David Septmoncel. 

The origin of Geneva is unknown; the first author Avho 
makes mention of it is Julius Caesar. He tells us, that in 
order to oppose the passage of the Helvetians he destroyed 
the bridge of the Rhone, and raised an entrenchment along 
the left bank of the river. Geneva was at that time the 
frontier town of the Allobroges, a people subject to the Roman 
rule. Numerous inscriptions and medals found in and on 
the spot attest the length of the sojourn made here by the 
conquerors of the world. During and after the invasion of 
the northern tribes the town was successively occupied by 
the Burgundians, who made it their capital, the Ostrogoths, 
and the Franks. Sacked and burned several times, it only 
occupied the narrow summit of the hill, whose surface it 
now entirely occupies. In the fifth century Geneva re¬ 
ceived Christianity. It formed part of the second Bur¬ 
gundian kingdom, and was incorporated with the great 
Germanic empire. Conrad the Salic was crowned there by 
the Archbishop of Milan. Powerful lords of the neigh¬ 
bourhood sought to seize the sovereignty, to the prejudice of 
the rights of the Emperors; on which account, probably, the 
latter confided the temporal power to the bishops, at first 
simple pastors, guaranteeing large rights, franchises, and 
municipal liberties to the citizens. The Counts of Savoy 
had designs on Geneva, and the citizens for a long 
time profited by the rivalry of their powerful neighbours 
to increase their heritage of freedom. The house of Savoy 
having augmented its possessions in Geneva by large pur¬ 
chases, acquired at last an ascendancy with the aristocracy 
of Geneva, which, without the greatest watchfulness and de • 
votion of the citizens, had been mortal to the liberties of 
Geneva. It contrived to get its own cadets or creatures no¬ 
minated bishops, and these excited the hatred of the citizens 
by their despotism and baseness. A number of resolute and 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


.125 


courageous men united, in 1518, openly to resist the tyranny 
of the Bishop Jean-Louis, and contracted an alliance with 
Freiburg. Sustained by the Duke of Savoy, who entered the 
town at the head of an army, the prelate succeeded for a 
time in suppressing this resistance, and breaking up the 
league with Freiburg. Berthelier, among others, paid his 
head as the penalty of his temerity. Pierre de Baume after¬ 
wards occupied the episcopal chair. This feeble and versa¬ 
tile prelate appeared for a time to have espoused the inte¬ 
rests of the citizens, who concluded another treaty with Frei¬ 
burg, and acquired some new rights ; but he soon fell under 
the influence of the house of Savoy. For a long time this 
house raised pretensions to the sovereignty of the town, and 
disputed the right of the Genevese to make alliances. It 
found a powerful party among the clergy and the noblesse. 
The differences of the Genevese with the house of Savoy 
were brought before the Swiss Diets, but while the affair 
was dragging its length through these assemblies the Duke 
was sorely harassing the citizens. Meanwhile the Reforma¬ 
tion, which had announced itself in Germany, penetrated this 
country, and, preached with ardour by Farel, Froment, and 
Viret d'Orbe, soon numbered many adherents among the 
citizens. The principles of the reformed religion were 
adopted without great perturbations; the bishop, who fled, 
was declared to be deposed; and the citizens, who were 
harassed incessantly by the incursions of a number of plun¬ 
dering gentlemen of the neighbourhood, boldly demolished 
the faubourgs, which formed one-half of Geneva, the better to 
protect the rest. Calvin being invited hither, settled in the 
town in 1556, and during a residence of twenty-eight years 
consolidated, not without some tyranny and persecution, and 
a proportionate amount of resistance, the new social edifice. 
Geneva was the Protestant Rome, the capital of the reformed 
religion. In 1584 the town concluded a treaty of perpetual 
alliance with Zurich and Berne, and long afterwards was 
an asylum of the Protestant refugees from France, Italy, 
and England. But the house of Savoy, although humiliated 
for the moment, had not renounced its designs upon Ge¬ 
neva, and Charles Emmanuel, having ascended the grand 
ducal throne, prepared an army to take the city. As this 
prince was in league with the Pope and Spain against 
France, the latter encouraged the Genevese to defend them- 


126 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


selves; and these uniting with the Bernese, carried on for 
several years a war which covered their state with glory and 
desolation. At length, the Genevese, isolated through the 
selfishness of their allies, were to all appearance ruined, and 
had nought wherewith to make head against their enemies, 
save their heroic courage and their confidence in God. 
Peace was concluded between France and Savoy, and Henry 
IV. had formally declared that Geneva should he numbered 
with the thirteen allies of the Swiss cantons included in 
the treaty. But Charles Emmanuel had not renounced 
his designs. He prepared a secret expedition, which, long 
meditated, seemed to promise an assured success. In 
the night of December 12, 1002, he advanced under the 
walls of the city, with a force composed of about 3000 
of the choicest soldiers of his army, under the orders 
of D’Albigny. It was three in the morning ; all was 
dark ; no one had so much as thought of an hostile 
expedition. Already scaling-ladders had been placed in 
silence against the wall, and 200 men had cleared the 
outer enclosure, when a sentinel sounded the alarm. The 
citizens ran to arms, and after a desperate struggle the 
enemy was repulsed. The Duke’s army withdrew, leaving 
200 Savoyards on the field. The anniversary of this signal 
victory, which shattered the projects of the Dukes of Savoy, 
is to this day celebrated in the Fete de l’Escalade. For the 
remainder of the century Geneva was safe, prosperous, and 
united. The first years of the eighteenth century were 
passed in internal discord. The aristocracy, which until 
then had governed the people under the rigorous and ex¬ 
clusive, although national, system established by Calvin, had 
lost its former prestige and energy, and, like that of Berne, was 
reduced to take its stand on the memory of its former services. 
The bourgeoisie, on the contrary, favoured by the peace, had 
acquired a social importance and acquaintance with affairs 
which made it natural that they should pretend to a share in 
the public administration. Thenceforward complaint and 
collision were inevitable,— the spirit of party envenomed all. 
The conduct of the aristocracy in soliciting the intervention 
of their allies finished the work of division and discord, and 
the history of Geneva in the eighteenth century is filled with 
the narrations of internal and often sanguinary wars, only 
suspended by the appearance of the enemy. The bourgeoisie 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


127 


maintained the plenitude of the old sovereign rights of the 
general council, while the aristocrats quoted the prescrip¬ 
tions of the constitution, which gave them the exclusive 
right to initiate changes, as their justification in opposing all 
reform. The material prosperity of the town was, happily, 
not destroyed by these incessant quarrels. Tranquillity was 
at length beginning to return, when, in April 1798, a French 
division invaded Geneva, and annexed it to la Grande Nation, 
whose fate it followed, as capital of the department of Leman, 
until 1813. While Buonaparte was resisting the allies under 
the walls of Paris, an Austrian division, under Count von 
Bubna, arrived under the walls of Geneva. The French pre¬ 
fect retired on his approach, and the garrison followed his 
example. The Genevese had managed to retain in their 
hands the direction of their national church, and of the esta¬ 
blishments of beneficence and education. The memory and 
love of their old liberties still lingered in their hearts. A few 
citizens, magistrates of the old republic, having concerted 
their measures in secret, constituted themselves a provisional 
government, and proclaimed the independence of the republic, 
December 31, 1813. The events of Paris and Waterloo con¬ 
firmed them in the enjoyment of peace. The independence 
of Geneva was recognised in the Congress of Vienna, and its 
small territory was aggrandised by the addition of twenty- 
two communes detached from France and Savoy. On the 
12th of September, 1814, the Swiss Diet voted the aggrega¬ 
tion of the republic as the 22d canton. Some days before, 
the Genevese had chosen a constitution which, being emi¬ 
nently aristocratic, underwent considerable modification after 
the French revolution of 1830. Thanks to a spirit of wisdom 
and moderation, Geneva passed through the periods of 1830- 
1840, so stormy in most of the Swiss cantons, without 
commotion ; but in 1841, by the impolitic refusal of the repre¬ 
sentative council to grant a municipal organisation to the 
town of Geneva, democratic demonstrations were made and 
repeated, the movement grew in strength, and the council 
was obliged to give way. An assembly was charged with the 
duty of drawing up a new constitution, which was sanctioned 
almost unanimously, June 7, 1842. In spite of this achieve¬ 
ment, the democratic party did not succeed in gaining the di¬ 
rection of affairs; and in 1843 anew attempt was made to over¬ 
throw the Conservative Government. During the excitement 


128 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


of the period of the Sonderbund, the government of Geneva 
endeavoured to take a middle course between the extreme 
party; by this means it isolated itself, and became an easy prey 
to its opponents. On the 6th of October, 1846, the opposition 
took up arms and raised barricades in the Quartier St. 
Gervais. The Government attempted, with all the force at 
its disposal, to destroy the barricades and penetrate into 
the insurgent quarter, but in vain. The troops had to with¬ 
draw, with a loss of 15 killed and 60 wounded. The Go¬ 
vernment was compelled to resign, a provisional executive 
was formed, and in the end such changes were made in the 
electoral circumscriptions and the constitution as must 
effectually secure the predominance of the democratic party. 
The government of the canton is administered by the 
Council of State, composed of seven members elected by 
all the citizens. The legislative power is in the hands of 
ninety-three deputies, elected by the entire body of citizens 
aged twenty-one years, and in the enjoyment of political 
rights. The municipal expenses of the town are covered by 
the octroi, which produces pretty nearly 250,000fr. per annum. 

Geneva has always maintained a most honourable rank 
among the cities which have advanced the cause of modern 
civilisation, and probably no town of its size has produced so 
many eminent men. In letters, Geneva boasts Rousseau, 
Madame de Stael, and M. Necker de Saussure; in natural 
science, Ch Bonnet, De Saussure, De Luc, De Candolle, 
Huber, the ingenious observer of bees ; in theology, Le Clerc 
and Cellerier; and in philology, Estienne Casauban and 
Scaliger; besides the publicists, Dumont, Delolme, and 
Bellot; Necker, Minister of Finance in France ; Admiral Le 
Fort, Minister of Peter the Great; and the historians Mallet 
and Sismondi. Although Geneva no longer occupies its 
former rank in the learned world, the letters and sciences 
are still cultivated there with credit and success. M. de la 
Rive has made a name by his interesting discoveries in 
electricity; M. Pictet de la Rive, for his zoological re¬ 
searches ; M. A. De Candolle and M. Duby are distinguished 
botanists; and M. Merle d’Aubigne, of the Oratoire, is 
author of the popular history of the Reformation. 

Omnibuses —For Celigny, Place de Bel-Air, Mondays, 
Wednesdays, and Saturdays, at four p.m. ; fare, 1 fr. For 
Trelex, Vingt-Deux Cantons, Cornavin No. 1, Mondays, 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


129 


"Wednesdays, and Saturdays, at four p.m. ; fare, 1 fr. For 
Gex, auberge of the Jeu de Paume, Eue Rousseau, Wednes¬ 
days and Saturdays, at four. For Saint Julien, near the 
Post-office, at ten a.m. and five p.m. ; fare, 60c. For Mornex 
(in summer), from No. 26 Croix d’Or, at half-past eight a.m. 
and half-past six p.m. ; fare, 1 fr. For Fancy, Place Neuve, 
at eight, ten, twelve, two, half-past three, half-past five, and 
eight o’clock; fare, 25c. For Carouge, Place Neuve, every 
quarter of an hour ; fare, 15c. For Vandoeuvres, Place de Rive 
(in summer), at eight a.m. and one and seven p.m. ; fare, 50c. 

Besides the omnibuses making regular journeys, vehicles, 
called concurrences (for the most part with very queer cattle), 
are found at every gate, waiting to convey passengers at 
omnibus fares. 

During the summer a number of voitures de place are sta¬ 
tioned on the Quai du Rhone, and carry persons according 
to the following tariff:— 


WITH ONE HORSE. 

First hour .* .3 fr. 

Second ditto . . 2 

Each hour beyond . 1 


WITH TWO HORSES. 

First hour . . . 5 fr. 

Second ditto . . 3 

Each hour beyond . 2 


Diligences and Malle-Posles .—For Dijon, malle-poste in 
fourteen hours, starting every day at two a.m. For Paris, 
diligence and railroad, in thirty hours, every morning at ten. 
For Lyons, in thirteen hours, daily, at six a.m. and three p.m. 
For Aix-les-Bains and Chambery, in ten hours, daily, at 
seven a.m., corresponding at Chambery for all the towns of 
Italy, with the French messageries nation ales. For Sallanches, 
Saint Gervais-les-Bains, and Chamonix, daily, at seven a.m. 
For all the Swiss towns and for Germany, every day at noon 
and at ten p.m. For Milan over the Simplon, daily, at 
ten p.m. The above are the messageries of L. Breittmayer- 
Racquet, Grand Quai, and 173 Rue du Rhone. 

Auguste and Victor Snell, 85 Rue du Rhone, run a dili¬ 
gence in connexion with the Chalons railway, without 
change of vehicle, via Nyon, Saint Laurent, Lans-le-Saulnier, 
every second day. For Milan, via Thonon, Evian, the 
Valais, and the Simplon, in 61 hours, every morning at six. 
For Aix and Chambery, by Rumilly, daily, at seven a.m. 
For Sallanches and Chamonix, daily, at six p.m. 

Malle-courri^re, via Thonon, Evian, and Bonneville, from 
the Rue de Rive 14, daily (except Sundays), at three p.m. ; 



130 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN, 


fare, 2fr. 25c. and 2fr. 50c. Courrier de Turin, in thirty-six 
hours, daily, at eight p.m. Omnibuses for Lausanne, every 
morning in summer, from opposite the Ecu de Gen&ve ; 
fare, 30 batz, or 4fr. 30c. Neuchatel diligence, 31 Rue des 
Etuves. 

“ Clear, placid Leman ! thy contrasted lake, 

With the wide -world I dwelt in, is a thing 
Which warns me, with its stillness, to forsake 
Earth’s troubled waters for a purer spring ; 

This quiet sail is as a noiseless wing 
To waft me from distraction : once I loved 
Torn ocean’s roar, but thy soft murmuring 
Sounds sweet as if a sister’s voice reproved, 

That I with stern delights should e’er have been so moved. 

It is the hush of night, and all between 
Thy margin and the mountains dusk, yet clear, 

Mellowed and mingling, yet distinctly seen, 

Save darkened Jura, whose cap heights appear 
Precipitously steep : and drawing near, 

There breathes a living fragrance from the shore, 

Of flowers, yet fresh with childhood, on the ear 
Drops the light drip of the suspended oar, 

Or chirps the grasshopper one good-night carol more. 

He is an evening reveller, who makes 
His life an infancy, and sings his fill; 

At intervals, some bird from out the brakes 
Starts into voice a moment, then is still ; 

There seems a floating whisper on the hill, 

But that is fancy, for the starlight dews 
All silently their tears of love instil, 

Weeping themselves away, till they infuse 
Deep into Natiire’s breast the spirit of her hues. 

* # * * * 

The sky is changed !—and such a change ! Oh night. 

And storm, and darkness, ye are wondrous strong, 

Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light 
Of a dark eye in woman ! Far along, 

From peak to peak, the rattling crags among 
Leaps the live thunder ; not from one lone cloud. 

But every mountain now hath found a tongue, 

And Jura answers through her misty shroud, 

Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud 1 

And this is in the night:—Most glorious night! 

Thou wert not sent for slumber ! let me be 
A sharer in thy fierce and far delight,— 

A portion of the tempest and of thee! 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


181 


How the lit lake shines, a phosphoric sea, 

And the big rain comes dancing to the earth! 

And now again ’tis black—and now, the glee 
Of the loud hills shakes with its mountain-mirth. 

As if they did rejoice o’er a young earthquake’s birth. 

Now, where the swift Rhone cleaves his way between 
Heights which appear as lovers who have parted 
In hate, whose mining depths so intervene, 

That they can meet no more, though broken-hearted ; 

Though in their souls, which thus each other thwarted ; 

Love was the very root of the fond rage 

Which blighted their life’s bloom, and then departed: 

Itself expired, but leaving them an age 
Of years all winters,—war within themselves to wage. 

Now, where the quick Rhone thus hath cleft his way, 

The mightiest of the storms hath ta’en his stand : 

For here, not one, but many make their play, 

And fling their thunderbolts from hand to hand, 

Flashing and cast around : of all the band 

The brightest through these parted hills hath forked 

His lightnings,— as if he did understand. 

That in such gaps as desolation worked, 

There the hot shaft should blast whatever therein lurked. 

Sky, mountains, river, winds, lake, lightnings ! ye ! 

With night, and clouds, and thunder, and a soul 
To make these felt and feeling, well may be 
Things that have made me watchful; the far roll 
Of your departing voices, is the knoll 
Of what in me is sleepless,—if I rest, 

But where of ye, oh tempests ! is the goal ? 

Are ye like those within the human breast ? 

Or do ye find, at length, like eagles, some high nest ?” 

The Lake of Geneva is equally known by the name of Lake 
Leman. Caesar in his “ Commentaries,” and various other 
ancient authors, have mentioned it by this designation, which 
the Romans found established in this country, when, for the 
first time, they carried hither their arms. Fallen almost 
into desuetude in following ages, this name has recently 
regained favour, being adopted into the language of modern 
political geography. We have heard, in the last half cen¬ 
tury, of a Republique Lemanique, a Swiss canton of Leman, 
and a French department of the same name, which extended 
along the southern shore of the lake from Geneva to the 
entrance of the Valais, near the embouchure of the Rhone. 

The Lake of Geneva is situated almost in the midst of a 
large valley, which separates the Alps from the Jura chain. 


132 


GENEVA AND LAKE I.EMAN. 


The Rhone, leaving the Valais, in which it has its source, 
enters this valley to pass through it. It there finds a great na¬ 
tural basin, which being filled with its waters, thus forms Lake 
Leman. Here the Rhdne rests for a while, and deposits the 
mud and debris which it has taken up in its turbulent and 
rapid course. From this vast reservoir it afterwards issues, 
brilliant and pure, and with its rapid and azure waters 
traverses the town of Geneva. It is, indeed, within the 
town itself, that the lower extremity of the lake terminates. 
The river once more contained in a narrow bed, resumes its 
course, and the name which it had lost, in discharging its 
w’aters into the upper extremity of the lake, or, to speak more 
justly, in extending them over a surface of thirty square 
leagues. It follows from the foregoing, that the w'aters of 
the Rhone and of the lake are perfectly commingled, and 
that the opinion long accredited amongst the nonenquiring, 
that the Rhone preserves a distinct and continuous current 
through the lake, is as little founded in fact as it is contrary 
to the most elementary notions of physics. There exist, it 
is true, currents which undergo various alternations of ra¬ 
pidity and height, concerning which little more is known 
than that they are perfectly independent of the Rhone, and 
certain momentary undulations of the lake’s surface may 
have deceived, in this respect, some inattentive spectators, 
but they are as variable as the winds and the aspects of the 
sun which produce these appearances. 

Besides the Rhone, about forty streams and rivulets dis¬ 
charge their waters into the Lake of Geneva. Each of these 
various affluents carries down a certain quantity of mud, &c. 
which is deposited in the lake, and is continually accumu¬ 
lating. The limpid condition of the water of the lake and 
the Rhone at Geneva proves that the sediment remains 
almost entirely in the lake, the basin of which it is tending 
imperceptibly to fill. It is even possible to determine ap- 
proximatively the epoch, happily very remote, when the lake 
will be entirely filled up by successive deposits. Gladly 
abandoning these sinister researches to the geologists, we 
content ourselves here with noticing as an incontestable 
fact the gradual diminution of the capacity of the lake. 
This phenomenon is especially perceptible at the embouchure 
of the Rhone, where the shoi’e receives each year a con¬ 
siderable accumulation of fine debris, which the river dis- 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


133 


charges upon losing with its velocity the power to trans¬ 
port further its burdens. According to the latest and most 
exact measurements, the elevation of the lake above the sea 
level is 1205 feet. 

The lake exhibits two kinds of flux and reflux; one of 
these is pretty general and regular: the waters begin to 
increase from the month of May, rising commonly to the 
height of six feet, but rarely passing that limit. From the 
end of August to December they subside to their former 
level, without being subject to sensible variation during the 
ensuing three months. This periodical increase coincides 
with the melting of the snows on the most elevated regions of 
the Alps, a process which is only carried on during the 
hottest months. The other kind of tide is altogether irre¬ 
gular, whether in period or intensity. In stormy weather, ' 
and in August rather than in any other months, the lake is 
seen to rise suddenly to the height of three, four, or even 
five feet, falling again with equal rapidity; and this alter¬ 
nation is carried on for several hours. These oscillations, 
which are locally called seiches , are more particularly ob¬ 
servable in that part of the lake which is nearest to Geneva. 
For above a century they have been the subject of scientific 
discussions, which have hitherto led to no satisfactory ex¬ 
planation of the facts. 

It will be easily conceived that if the winter is much pro¬ 
longed, or more severe than usual, the periodic fall of the 
lake leaves the waters below their average height. At such a 
time a cold wind sweeping the surface of the lake in the 
direction of its length may detach the ice which forms on 
the margin, and carry it into the gulf which terminates at 
Geneva, and thus a crust of ice may be formed on that part 
of the lake, which will disappear only with the return of a 
milder temperature. Thus, in the memorable winter of 
1829-30, the lake was passable on foot, and without danger, 
near the port of Geneva. However, this phenomenon is ex¬ 
ceedingly rare, and the great depth of the lake, as well as 
the degree of agitation which is habitual to its surface, must 
prevent the extension of this congelation to any consider¬ 
able distance from the shore. 

To give a general idea of the form of the Lake of Geneva 
we may compare it to a very open crescent, with its con¬ 
vexity to the north, and with a slight obliquity to the, west. 


134 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


Rounded at its upper extremity it is prolonged to a point at 
Geneva, and there forms a kind of second basin; hence the 
distinction between the petit lac and the grand lac, whose 
separation is conceived by an imaginary line drawn from a 
promontory called Pointe d’Yvoise to the opposite town of 
Nyon. The curvature of the lake at this point is so much 
the more sensible, inasmuch as a little further on the bank 
turns brusquely to the south to form the gulf near Thonon. 
From the environs of Geneva only the petit lac is visible, 
and at Geneva itself the horizon is bounded by heights 
which still further narrow the view. The total length of the 
lake, taking Geneva and Villeneuve for the extreme points, 
and following the mean curve described by the Swiss shore, 
is 55 miles ; while the same distance between the same 
points, measured in a right line, carried through Chablais, 
is only 35 miles. The greatest breadth of the lake, 
taken between Thonon and Rolle, is about six miles. The 
greatest depth of soundings have been obtained at the su¬ 
perior extremity of the lake to the east of a line drawn from 
Evian to the hamlet of Vidy below Lausanne. The depth 
here was 900 feet. Lake Leman, according to the measure¬ 
ments given above, surpasses in superficial extent all the 
lakes in Switzerland, among which that of Constance alone 
can dispute with it the pre-eminence in virtue of its greater 
depth and larger volume of water. 

At about a mile from Geneva a great sand-bank, called Le 
Travers, runs out as far as the port of the town, and extends 
its ramifications to about three miles to the north of Geneva, 
where the lake becomes much deeper. Although covered 
with water for a considerable portion of the year, its presence 
requires considerable caution of navigators in the winter 
months. In different parts of the lake, and at short dis¬ 
tances from the shore, rugged rocks exist, Avhich sometimes 
rise above, hut are often concealed by the waters. These, 
which are of granite, or some other primitive rocks, are 
generally regarded by geologists as detached fragments 
of the central chain of the Alps anterior to the historic 
period, and products of the great revolutions to which this 
portion of the globe has been subjected. Two of such 
granitic rocks are seen near the entrance of the port of 
Geneva. The larger of the two hears the name of Niton, or 
Neptune’s Stone; it having, according to popular tradition, 


GENEVA AND LAKE IE MAN. 


135 


once been consecrated to the worship of that deity. The 
lake is navigable at all seasons, and in its entire extent. It 
is less subject than other Swiss lakes to irregular gusts of 
wind, and those unexpected squalls which render navigation 
dangerous. Its shores, moreover, offer almost at all points 
a commodious landing-place. The southern shore itself, 
formerly feared on account of its steep and rugged form, has 
become accessible on all points since the abrupt rocks of 
Meillerie have been broken, under the direction of French, 
engineers, to form the fine chaussee which follows the quay 
along that bank. Until these few years the navigation of 
Lake Leman was much less than that of other Swiss lakes. 
The introduction of steam boats, however, has effected a 
total revolution in this respect. The first steamer made its 
appearance here in 1823, and the principal communications 
between the various towns of the Swiss bank is now carried 
on by steam-boats. 

The lake is not so well supplied with fish as some of its 
rivals, owing to its depth and the purity of its waters, to¬ 
gether with the difficulty of exercising any control over the 
fisheries. After trout, and a species resembling trout, called 
the ombre-chevalier, the fish most in esteem are the perch, 
the fero, and the lote. Pike exist in great numbers. The 
quality of the produce of these waters compensates some¬ 
what for the defect in quantity ; the trout are particularly 
excellent. 

Two routes, almost equally pleasant and convenient, now 
extend along the banks of the lake and of the superior 
Rhine, from Geneva to the town of St. Maurice in the 
Valais, where they meet, and in the south-east terminate 
what, upon the principles of physical geography, may be 
called the Valley of the Leman. The excursionist may at 
his pleasure commence the tour of the lake by either of 
these routes. That which presents itself on the light, 
taking Geneva as a starting-point, follows, with some devia¬ 
tion at first, the eastern and southern shore of the lake, 
through Chablais, enters the Valais near the embouchure 
of the Pthone, and then turning, follows the course of that 
river as far as the defile of St. Maurice, where it emerges into 
the high road of the Valais, which passes longitudinally 
through the canton as far as to the entrance of the pass of 
the Simplon. The route which presents itself on the left, 


136 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


at Geneva, longer by several miles, because it forms a 
segment of a circle, of which the preceding is the chord, 
enters the canton of Yaud about seven miles above Geneva, 
and only leaves it to rejoin the right-hand route at the 
bridge of St. Maurice over the Rhone. 

Having to choose between these two ways of making the 
tour of the lake, for the purposes of description, we take the 
road along the Swiss shore, or, as we shall call it, the right 
bank of the lake, it being so in relation to the course of the 
Rhone, of which the lake is but a continuation. Our route will 
thus be better adapted than in the contrary case to the con¬ 
venience of travellers making the tour by water, the steam¬ 
boats having always found it advantageous to make their 
journey in this direction. Those who make the journey by 
land, and also prefer to commence with Savoy, will have less 
difficulty in inverting the order of this itinerary while 
travelling than the voyager carried from one end of the 
lake to the other with a rapidity which scarcely leaves 
leisure to familiarise himself with the spots indicated. For 
the convenience of both parties we insert a table of dis¬ 
tances, as well by land as by water. The numbers repre¬ 
sent Swiss leagues (equal to 3 English miles, 1 furlong, 215 
yards), this being the standard best known in the environs 
of the lake, and that which is marked on all the milliary 
stones placed along the right bank. 

Distances by Land. —Secheron, 3-8 of league; La Pier- 
riere, 3-8 ; Genthod, 5-8; Pont de Versoix, 3-8 ; Yersoiz-la- 
Ville, 1-4; Yaudoise Frontier, 1-4 ; Coppet, 1-2; Celigny, 3-4 ; 
Crans, 1-8 ; Nyon, 1-2 ; Prangins, 1-8 ; Dullit, 1 1. 1-4; 
Bursinel, 1-4; Rolle, 1-2 ; Perroy, 1-4 ; Allaman, 5-8 ; Saint- 
Prex, 3-4 ; Morges, 11.; Preverenges, 3-8 ; Saint-Sulpice, 1-2 ; 
Yidy, 1-2 ; Lausanne, 11. (111. 1-4 from Geneva) ; Pully, 3-8 ; 
Lutry, 1-2; Cully, 5-8; Glerolles, 1 1.; Saint-Saphorin, 1-4; 
Vevey, 3-4; (3 1. 1-2 from Lausanne, 14 1. 3-4 from Geneva); 
La Tour de Peilz, 1-8; Clarens, 5-8; Montreux, 3-8; Chil- 
lon, 5-8; Yilleneuve, 1-4 (5 1. 1-2 from Lausanne, 16 1. 3-4 
from Geneva). 

Distances by Water. —From the port of Geneva to Cop- 
pet, 2 1. 2-5; Nyon, 1 1. 8-5; Pcinte de Promentlioux, 1-2; 
Rolle, 11. 7-10 (6 1. 15 from Geneva); Pointe d’Alla¬ 
man, 1 1.; St.-Prex, 4-5; Morges, 4-5; Ouchy sous Lau¬ 
sanne, 1 1. 4-5 (10 1. 3-5 from Geneva; and by the shortest 



GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


137 


line, 9 1. 7-10); Vevey, 3 1. 3-10; Villeneuve, 1 1. 7-10 (15 1. 
3-5 from the port of Geneva). 

From Geneva to Genthod the road, almost constantly 
parallel to the lake, has a cheerful aspect. Without passing 
through any village, unless we give the name to such ham¬ 
lets as Secheron, La Pierriere, Pregsny Pessous, Chambery, 
it presents a succession of pretty dwellings, pleasure-gar¬ 
dens, and grounds in every variety of taste and construction, 
and forming a pleasing picture of mingled rural and sub¬ 
urban beauty. This spectacle is reproduced in constantly 
changing forms until, gaining a height at a certain distance 
from Geneva, all its proportions are enlarged, the view ex¬ 
tends, and the multiplicity and imposing grandeur of the 
remotest objects which now make their appearance give a 
new character to the scene. From Geneva to Secheron the 
glaciers of Savoy, partially hidden from Geneva by the first 
line of the Alps, are progressively disclosed to view. Mont 
Blanc, and the snowy peaks which surround the monarch, 
are now seen in all their majesty, bordered to the south by 
Mont Saleve, and on the north by the verdant mountain of 
Voirons. The Mole, the Brezon, Monts Vergy, and other 
picturesque mountains, already strongly tinged with blue 
through their distance, and most of them imperfectly visible 
from Geneva, appear successively at the base of the ILautes 
Alpes, in the interval between the Voirons and the Salbve. 
During a great portion of the year, and when the clouds 
conceal Mont Blanc and the other summits of the central 
chain from sight, these lower mountains, themselves very 
much elevated above the horizon, and sillonnees here and 
there with snow, which even in summer the sun cannot en¬ 
tirely dissolve, offer some image of the Hautes Alpes, with 
which they seem to be confounded when winter has com¬ 
pletely whitened their summits. 

La Pierriere, formerly a liarnlet composed of isolated 
houses, has recently increased considerably in the direction 
of the main road. The limit of the ancient banlieue of 
Geneva was placed between Secheron and La Pierriere. The 
territory intermediate between this limit and the frontier of 
the canton of Vaud, near Coppet, belonged to France, with 
the exception of the commune of Genthod, which thus early 
formed part of the Genevese territory. 

The parochial village of Genthod is for the most part 


138 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


situated on a height at some distance to the left of the road. 
A house is shown there which was for many years the sum¬ 
mer residence of the metaphysician Charles Bonnet, a vir 
tuous and religious man, who knew no other passion than 
that of science, and dared to be a Christian in a sceptical 
age. 

About two miles above Genthod we cross the little stream 
of La Versoix, which falls into the lake at a distance of 
about two hundred paces from the road, and we enter imme¬ 
diately the commune of Yersoix, the largest of the six com¬ 
munes detached in 1815 from the French Pays de Gex, to 
be united to the Genevan territory. The place called Ver- 
soix-le-Village is a kind of market-town, with a post of 
gendarmerie, and a bureau of federal customs for foreign 
merchandise introduced by way of Ferney. The soil in this 
commune is almost everywhere avid, and the habit of smug¬ 
gling contracted when a French custom-house existed here 
has had an influence, from which the morals of the people 
still suffer. What is still called in derision Versoix-la-Ville 
is about ten minutes’ walk from this point. This projected 
town has a pretty good port, which is all that remains of its 
ephemeral existence under the minister Clioiseul. Voltaire 
said,— 

“ A Versoix nous avons des rues, 

Mais nous n’avons pas des maisons. ” 

A large square, and a system of streets traced on the soil, 
might have been seen a few years ago at Yersoix; but neither 
the advances made by the French government, nor the en¬ 
couragements of all kinds promised to manufactures and 
merchants who should settle at Yersoix, nor yet the troubles 
which the French brought upon Geneva, could induce colo¬ 
nists to settle in a locality adapted by nature neither for 
manufactures nor commerce. The territory of Versoix-le- 
Ville has now been given up to agriculture, and the plough 
to-day passes over the site of the Rue Clioiseul, the Avenue 
Richelieu, and the Place Royale de Yersoix, as the herdsman 
of the Campagna of Rome crowds with his cattle the soil of 
the ancient Forum. 

“ Another age shall see the golden ear 
Embrown the slope and nod on the parterre; 

Deep harvests bury all that pride has plann’d, 

And laughing Ceres reassume the land.” 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN* 


139 


The frontier of the canton of Yaud is about half-a-mile 
above Versoix-la-Ville. A few minutes’ walk beyond the first 
Vaudoise milestone marks the distance of two leagues from 
Geneva and nine from Lausanne. The first of these esti¬ 
mations is decidedly half-a-mile too short. At half-a-league 
from the frontier is Coppet, a little town of five hundred in¬ 
habitants, built on the margin of the lake, on which it has a 
port. The greater portion of the population is devoted to 
rural occupations, or engaged in fishing and the transport of 
merchandise by water. The chateau, doubly remarkable for 
its beauty and the souvenirs which it calls up, is on a height 
which commands the town ; from which it is separated by a 
terrace. It is a large building of wooden architecture, erected 
on the site of a feudal castle, which in 1536 sustained a siege 
against the Bernese, and was in part destroyed by fire. The 
learned Bayle lived here many years, as a tutor in the family 
of Count Dolina. The minister Necker also passed here, 
in honourable retirement, the latter years of his life. His 
daughter,Madame De Stael, who long inhabited it, is buried at 
this place in a monumental tomb with her father, her mother, 
and the eldest of her sons. The chateau has a pretty park, 
through which a small river meanders in its way to the lake. 
There is at Coppet a Customs’ bureau, where passports, as 
well as merchandise imported into the Pays de Yaud by this 
route, are inspected. It is the first relay of posts from 
Geneva to Lausanne, and the first station at which the 
steamer calls on its way from Geneva to Yilleneuve. 

From Coppet to Nyon the distance is about a league and 
a half by land. The highway leaves successively on the left 
the village of Celigny and Crans, placed at a small distance 
apart on the heights which border the road. The first is 
the chief place of a Genevese commune isolated and enclosed 
within the canton ofVaucl, through which we are passing. 
The second is distinguished from a good distance by its 
chateau, a large and elegant building, overlooking the lake 
from a raised plateau to the north of the village. 

Nyon (inn, Couronne), a town of 3000 inhabitants, about 
four leagues from Geneva, and seven leagues from Lau¬ 
sanne, is built partly along the bank of the lake, and partly 
on a terraced hill. Its origin is traceable to the epoch of the 
conquest of Helvetia by the Romans. Julius Caesar founded 
it, and established a military colony there. At first it bore 


uo 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


the name of Colonia Julia Equestris, which subsequently 
changed for that of Novidunum, or Nevidunum, in which it 
is easy to recognise the etymology of its present appellation. 
The remains of ancient walls are discernible in the town, 
and date—in part, at least—from the time of the Roman domi¬ 
nation. The soil in the immediate environs of Nyon, par¬ 
ticularly towards'the lake, is of a disagreeable aridity, which, 
however, disappears as soon as we pass the sandy hills 
which here border the Leman. A verdant and fertile plain 
rises by insensible gradations from the reverse of these hills 
to the foot of the mountains behind. Numerous villages, 
partly concealed by collections of large timber trees, embel¬ 
lish the landscape. The Jura, distant only a league and a 
half from the band of the lake, bounds the horizon with its 
thickly-wooded slopes. Prangins, Trelex, Gingins, Crassier, 
Duillier, and Beaumont, placed on the confines of the 
mountains and the plain, are remarked by their numerous 
streams, their thick woods, and verdant meadows. Nyon 
belongs to the basin of the petit lac, which terminates on 
this shore at the point of Promenthoux, situated half a 
league from this town opposite the point of Yvoire. The 
larger lake is seen from Nyon throughout its length, 
although in a profile which is by no means calculated to 
give the spectator a correct idea of its extent; but scarcely 
have we quitted Nyon than the view of the basin enlarges, 
the Savoy shore becomes visible, and a new amphitheatre of 
mountains is developed around the gulf. In the remote 
and vapory distance is seen across the lake the old town of 
Thonon, the ancient capital of Chablais, whose whitened 
walls contrast with the sombre verdure of the surrounding 
hills. The Chartreuse of Ripaille marks the eastern ex¬ 
tremity of the gulf, terminated at the west by the villages of 
Yvoire and Coudre. The petit lac which we leave behind us 
now dwindles to the proportions of a mere channel, at the ex¬ 
tremity of which the town of Geneva shines like a luminous 
point when the sun darts forth his rays on the pinnacles of 
its towers and steeples, and on its high houses, covered with 
plates of tin, or announces itself by a sombre aureola of 
smoke when the sky is veiled in clouds. 

From Nyon to Rolle the distance is about 2£ leagues. A 
broad and straight road joins the two towns, but presents 
little to detain our notice. About three-quarters of a league 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


141 


from Nyon we pass the forest of Prangins, which covers the 
greater part of the peninsula of Promenthoux, between our 
route and the margin of the lake. The chateau of Prangins, 
much nearer Nyon, is situated near the village of the same 
name, on an eminence to the left of the high road. The 
celebrated vineyard of Cote commences in the neighbour¬ 
hood of Nyon, and terminates at three leagues to the north¬ 
west of the town, on the right bank of the little river of 
Aubonne. 

Rolle (inn, Tete Noire), 0^ leagues from Geneva, is a 
little town of agreeable aspect, built on the borders of the 
lake, towards a hay which faces the gulf of Thonon. It was 
built'in the first half of the thirteenth century, and has now 
a population of 1500. Its little port has lately been enlarged 
and improved. The small island which guards the entrance 
is called La Harpe. It is a terrace in form, almost oval; 
planted with trees, which overhang a monument raised to 
General Harpe, a native of Rolle. It has been remarked 
above, that Lake Leman has its maximum breadth between 
Rolle and Thonon. To the eye of an observer, placed at an 
equal distance from the two shores, the lake has the aspect 
of a disc. To a spectator at Rolle, the curvature of the 
surface of the lake affords some idea of its breadth, being 
so great as to obscure the objects on the opposite shore, the 
coast of the Chablais. From Rolle, Geneva may still he 
distinguished in serene weather; hut as we proceed, the 
promontories of the left bank soon exclude it from the view. 
In exchange, the banks of the greater lake and the high 
mountains, whose base it washes, now take sharper outlines 
in the landscape. The Mont des Alinges, the Rocs d’Enfer, 
the mountains of Bogeve, Bellvaux Biot, and Abondance, 
form round the gulf of Thonon a verdant belt, deepened 
here and there with dense forests. Further on, the group 
of Dents d’Oche rises above the left hank like an abrupt 
wall, and projects its grey peaks obliquely into the azure * 
sky. A mass of mountains, whose forms the eye cannot yet 
distinctly trace, terminates the horizon on the Swiss shore 
near Villeneuve, and marks the oriental extremity of Lake 
Leman. 

An ascending road, which leaves on our left, and at some 
distance above us, the village of Perroy, conducts us, by 
about an hour’s walking, to Allaman, a pretty village, re- 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


U2 

markable for its picturesque semifeudal cMteau, partly con¬ 
cealed from the road by trees. Allaman occupies an elevated 
position above the lake, and at least half a mile from its 
banks, notwithstanding the natural inductions from the 
Latin etymology of its name (Ad Leraanum). The cape or 
promontory which the bank forms above the village, marks, 
with that of Promenthoux, the entrance to the bay of Rolle. 
The hamlet of Buchillan, which occupies the point, is the 
last spot on this route from which it is possible to catch a 
glimpse of Geneva without leaving the shores of Leman. 
The way from Rolle to Allaman is bordered almost without 
interruption with vines, and presents scarcely any other ob¬ 
jects worthy of notice. If, however, we leave this road, and 
ascend to the crest of the hill on which these vines are 
planted, we shall gain a charming prospect from heights ver¬ 
dant with grass aid flowers, or thickly shaded with wood. 
The place called Signal de Bougy, above and at some dis¬ 
tance from the village of that name, between Rolle and 
Aubonne, offers an admirable panorama of the Leman and 
the Alps of Savoy, which rise by successive stages above the 
magnificent basin at the spectator’s feet. Mont Blanc ap¬ 
pears in the background of the picture sometimes pale and 
silvered during that portion of the day that the sun leaves in 
its shadow that side of the mountain which is turned towards 
us, and, again, gilded by the fires of that orb, and standing 
grandly out from the pyramids of snow which surround it. 
On leaving the village of Allaman, and proceeding towards 
Lausanne, we traverse the river Aubonne at the bottom of an 
agreeably wooded ravine, where, having just passed the town 
of the same name, it falls into the lake. The vines now be¬ 
gin to retire from the view; meadows and fields reappear; 
the hills which border our road are crowned with woods of 
beech, oak, and fir. Mont Jorat sinks as we advance, and 
permits the eye to range as far as to the foot of the Jura, 
whose thick forests and green pastures give a sylvan cha¬ 
racter to the landscape. 

The bridge of the Aubonne at Allaman is a very bad one, 
and the part of the road which leads through the ravine toil¬ 
some, but beyond this point it is again good. It runs nearly 
parallel to the shore of the lake, but almost always preserves 
a moderate remoteness, and does not follow its sinuosities. 
At three-quarters of a league from Allaman we leave on our 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


143 

right, at a few minutes’ distance, the village of Saint-Prex, 
placed at the extremity of a promontory visible from afar, 
and to the east of which the gulf or bay of Morges opens. 
This village, once a considerable burgh, has nothing remark¬ 
able now but its river and Avail, and its isolated temple near 
the high road. The point of Saint-Prex, situated at almost 
equal distance by water from Geneva and the embouchure of 
the Rhone, near Villeneuve, is regarded by navigators as the 
middle point of the right bank of the Leman. Prom the 
church of St.-Prex to Morges is about a league. Farms and 
habitations of all kinds multiply on the road as we approach 
this town. Most of the country residences which we now 
meet are of good size, elegant, and surrounded by pleasant 
parks. From the Geneva side, Morges is entered by a large 
avenue planted with tine trees, and by a plain laid out as a 
promenade between the lake, the road, and the enceinte of 
the chateau. 

Morges (inn, La Couronne), one of the principal and most 
agreeable towns of the canton of Yaud, contains Avitliin its 
enceinte scarcely 2500 inhabitants. On the side by which 
we enter the approaches have the aspect of the faubourgs of a 
large town. Its streets are large, regular, w 7 ell paved, and 
its houses are for the most part well built. Its church, a 
modern edifice, rises in the midst of a square at the eastern 
extremity of the toAvn. Its campanile, rounded in the form 
of a dome, and terminated with a lantern, is visible at a good 
distance. Morges has a good port, inclosed on tAvo sides by 
jetties of masonry, and large enough to contain fifty loaded 
barges. Its chateau, built a.d. 1230, serves to-day as an ar¬ 
senal for the canton. The toAvn of Morges has no very 
ancient origin, having been built in the tenth century. It 
increased in succeeding years under the fostering care of the 
Dukes of Zahringen. These great imperial vassals endowed 
it Avith numerous municipal franchises, and surrounded it 
A\ r ith walls, in the security of which it attained to a great 
prosperity. Under the princes of the House of Savoy, 
Morges was one of the quatre bonnes villes, or privileged 
cities, of the Pays de Yaud. The Bernese took it in 1675, in 
the course of that sanguinary Burgundian Avar Avhich saved 
the independence of Switzerland, but of Avhich nearly all the 
acts bear the imprint of the barbarism of the age. In prospects 
of a certain class, Morges may contend to advantage with any 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


144 

point between Geneva and Lausanne. From the south¬ 
west to the north-east an immense girdle of mountains con¬ 
tains the horizon, and is rounded in the form of an arc from 
Yvoire to Villeneuve. Mont Blanc lises towering behind and 
above the Alps of Chablais, and a glacis of verdure slopes 
from the base of these mountains to the verge of the lake. 
Evian, Tourronde, and further to the east Meillerie, are seen 
on the level shore of Savoy; and a practised eye may already 
discover the town of St. Gingolph, which rises over the sur¬ 
face of the lake like a wall of white marble, at the base of the 
first mountains of Valais. 

At some distance above Merges, on a plateau which com¬ 
mands the town on the north-west, an antique monument is 
visible, and forms one of the most salient objects on the right 
bank of the Leman. This is the chateau of Yuflers, which 
figures in all the epochs of Helvetian history. The principal 
portion of this large building is an immense square donjon, 
170 feet in height, built with brick, and of Roman construc¬ 
tion, surrounded with a wall to which time has paid unusual 
respect. Near it is a more modern chateau, the Gothic towers 
of which bear the impress of the architectural taste of the 
middle stages. It is believed to have been built in the tenth 
century by the celebrated Queen Bertha, wife of Rodolph II. 
of Burgundy. This picturesque group of buildings has not 
the effect of a river, for its well-patched walls announce the 
solicitude with which its preservation has been cared for: it 
is rather a beautiful ornament, such as an ingenious taste 
might have conceived to give a more imposing character to 
the landscape. 

Morges is the fourth postal relay on the route from 
Geneva to Lausanne, the two preceding being Nyon and 
Rolle. From Nyon to Morges there is a second route, which 
passes through the upper portion of the vineyard of Cote. It 
is longer than that which follows the border of the lake, be¬ 
cause it encloses it from one end to the other. For this reason 
it is less frequented, although good and well maintained. It 
forms part of the road of Etraz, passes through several good 
villages, leads to the foot of the Signal de Bougy, and thence 
to th9 little town of Aubonne, and presents a greater variety 
of good prospects than the direct road passing through 
Rolie, Allaman, and Saint-Prex. 

On leaving Morges in the direction of Lausanne, the road, 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


145 


which is at first level ancl very near to the lake, soon rises 
rapidly and turns towards the left as far as the village of 
Preverenges, about a mile from Morges. From this point 
we begin to perceive the town of Lausanne, situated midway 
between the banks of the lake and the escarpments of the Jorat. 
At present, however, it is only seen as a confused mass of 
houses without determinate form. This town, so picturesque 
when seen from the heights which command it on the north 
and east, has but a very mediocre appearance in the land¬ 
scape, as seen from the road by which we travel, until we arrive 
at the fine terrace which serves for its approach on the Ge¬ 
neva side, when it suddenly appears in its entirety to the 
spectator. 

At some distance beyond Preverenges we cross, by an ex¬ 
cellent bridge, the Vevage, one of the most considerable afflu¬ 
ents which Lake Leman receives from the canton of Vaud. 
The Jorat, whose direction and form we could with difficulty 
have discovered since we quitted the vineyard of Cote, near 
Allaman, now becomes more distinct on the left bank of the 
Vevage. It is no longer a succession of hills scattered with¬ 
out order, but becomes once again a true mountain, whose 
slopes gently inclined towards the lake as far as to a league 
beyond Lausanne, rise further on, and as far as from Lutry 
to Yevay, a long line of escarpment enclosing the bank of the 
lake. From the bridge of the Vevage to Vidy, a league from 
Lausanne, the road is level for nearly the entire distance, and 
keeps a mean distance of half a mile from the lake. On the 
right of the road we leave the little village of Saint-Sulpice, 
built on a promontory which on this side terminates 
the bay of Morges. It is the only considerable group of 
habitations which animates the scenery on this part of 
our route. Vidy, where we speedily arrive after having 
gained Saint-Sulpice, is neither a village nor a hamlet; it 
is a large bare plain, almost uninhabited, washed by the lake, 
which has only lately ceased to submerge the soil. Here, 
according to tradition, stood the old Lausorium; whose ex¬ 
istence is now only attested by history, and the name of 
the modern town which has been built near its site. At 
Vidy we quit the district of Morges, and enter that of Lau¬ 
sanne. The plain is continued for some little distance, but 
the road soon rises, and for the last half league before enter¬ 
ing Lausanne is carried over a succession of hills, which 


146 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


gradually recede from the lake. This part of the journey is 
fatiguing for man and beast, but it is shaded by fir-trees, and 
passes through a pleasing country; for few localities are com¬ 
parable to the environs of Lausanne for the graceful undu¬ 
lations of the terrain, the beauty of the woods, the freshness 
of the meadows, the abundance of water, and the purity of 
the air, almost constantly refreshed during the summer 
by a gentle breeze. Habitations are scattered throughout 
the environs of the town; sometimes removed from the road; 
sometimes grouped in hamlets ; here isolated on the crest of 
a hill ; there half-concealed in the luxuriant verdure of a 
meadow, or behind the curtain of a wood. This spectacle is 
reproduced at every step as we approach Lausanne, until 
attaining the plain which crowns the summit of the last hill 
we discover the beautiful valley, from the middle of which 
Lausanne rises on both sides like an amphitheatre, project¬ 
ing into the air as embattled towers, angular roofs, obelisk¬ 
like spires, and, above all, the imposing mass of its antique 
cathedral, isolated as a platform, which commands the rest 
of the town. 

The town of Lausanne having been described in another 
page (see Route, Berne to Lausanne, by Freiburg, p. 103) we 
pass on, having accomplished the distance of 11£ leagues from 
Geneva, to make the remaining 04 leagues which are to bring 
us to the extremity of the lake at Villeneuve. A route re¬ 
cently tortuous, narrow, and steep, but now tolerably pass¬ 
able, conducts us from Lausanne to Pully, a village situated 
partly on the banks of the lake, on the confines of the dis¬ 
tricts of Lausanne and La Vaux. Although it is scarcely half 
a league from Lausanne to Pully, the aspect of the country 
is already changed. The slope of the hills is steeper, mea¬ 
dows and fields gradually give place to the vine, which soon 
takes place of all other kinds of cultivation. The country 
begins to lose its sylvan aspect, and has lost it entirely as we 
arrive at Lutry, a little town on the bank of the lake, about a 
league from Lausanne. It is a little on this side Lutry that 
commences the district of Vaux, and the noble vineyard of 
the same name, a chef d'oeuvre of agricultural industry, 
which occupies a space of about three leagues along Lake 
Leman, and terminates at the gates of Vevay. It rises to a 
considerable height on the southern slope of the Jorat, pre¬ 
senting, in some places, more than forty terraces, in slopes, 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


M7 


rising one above another. At a first glance there is some¬ 
thing striking in the coup d’ceil, but the monotony soon 
becomes fatiguing; for nothing breaks the tame uniformity 
of the scene, and the culture, productive as it may be, has an 
aridity which saddens its aspect. A crowd of villages and 
populous hamlets hang on the slope of La Yaux, but the 
soil is so precious that the houses are squeezed close toge¬ 
ther, and there is not room for a single tree, not to mention 
meadows. With the exception of the last summits of the 
Jorat, or some ravines which have escaped from culture 
through their depth, the eye can discern scarcely any trace 
of natural vegetation. All is art, all bears the impress of 
human industry; the soil itself is in great part conveyed 
from the plain, and the cultivator of La Yaux, realising the 
fable of Sisyphus, is continually engaged in carrying up the 
hill the soil, which incessantly makes its way towards the 
bottom. The vineyard of Yaux is alike remarkable for the 
quantity and quality of its produce. The price of land there 
is exceedingly high, perhaps more than in any other part of 
Switzerland, or the neighbouring countries; and those vil¬ 
lages which have generally the least beauty, are inhabited by 
the most opulent cultivators. Lutry is composed of a single 
street; it contains from 1500 to 2000 inhabitants, who are 
for the most part either proprietors of vineyards or working 
vine-dressers. 

Cully, an old burgh, a good half-league from Lutry, and 
half-way between Lausanne and Vevay, is built close to the 
lake, behind a little gulf. It is almost the centre of the vine¬ 
yard of Vaux. The most renowned vines are found in its 
neighbourhood. A Roman inscription on the pedestal of a 
small bronze statue found here, shows that the vine has 
been cultivated in this part of the country from a very remote 
antiquity. A league from Cully, and a little distance on this 
side Saint-Sapliorin, the road passes under the moss-grown 
walls of the old chateau of Glerolles, built on an esplanade 
of rocks which advance into the lake, and form a promon¬ 
tory. A few steps further on, to the left of the road, is a 
cascade, broken into several successive falls, the sight of 
which is very refreshing when its waters have been swelled 
by recent rains or melting snows. It is formed by the torrent 
of the Forestay, which carries down the waters overflowing 
from the little lake of Bret into the lake. Travellers who 


14:8 GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 

do not feel too fatigued may do well to ascend to the 
plateau, from which the eye takes in a very extended 
horizon. It is crowned by the ruins of the Tour de 
Gourze, the remains of an old fortress of the tenth cen¬ 
tury. It is reached by several paths, which it is easy to 
ascertain at Lutry, Cully, or any of the villages on the road. 
In descending, the traveller may take the path by the lake 
of Bret, and the village of Cherbres, from which a good road 
leads into the highway between Saint-Saphorin and Vevay. 

Saint-Saphorin, through which we pass at a short mile 
beyond the chateau of G1 erolles, is an old town, or rather large 
village, somewhat elevated above the lake. It is reached on 
both sides by a steep hill. The red wine purchased in its 
environs passes for the best in the canton of Yaud. Planta¬ 
tions of myrtles and other pretty shrubs cover the terraces 
between the houses of the village and the lake. This culture 
would be a strange anomaly on a soil so much in demand 
for the vine if its only object were to afford an agreeable 
aspect, but it furnishes an article of considerable traffic with 
the inhabitants of the canton of Freiburg, who willingly pay 
a remunerative price for the cuttings of shrubs wherewith 
they decorate their churches. It is asserted that the olive 
was formerly cultivated with success in the neighbourhood 
of Saint-Saphorin, and that the culture was abandoned in con¬ 
sequence of the rigorous winter of 1709, which did not spare 
even the olives of Provence. 

The road from Lausanne to Vevay, and, indeed, as far as 
two leagues beyond this town, has been lately improved ; it 
still, however, contrasts badly with the generally prosperous 
aspect and good roads of the rest of the canton. The most 
disagreeable portion of the route of La Yaux is that between 
Lutry and Saint-Saphorin. It is so narrow in places as not to 
permit the passage of two carriages, and winds up and down 
hill between two continuous walls, until out the least shade 
to relieve the eye or protect the traveller from the heat- 
rays of the sun, which are reflected from the vine-terraces 
that rise on the steep side of the mountain as high as 
the eye can reach. The uniform culture, the apparent 
aridity, and the verdigris tint which constantly colours the 
country as far as Saint-Saphorin, contribute to render the 
route still more displeasing, but are in part compensated by 
an oasis of verdure here and there; such as is the charming 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


149 


promontory of Glerolles, with its tufts of lote-trees, its 
bushes of sweet-brier, its walls clothed with the wild vine 
and ivy, and its orchards gently inclined to the lake. The 
point of Glerolles is the first spot on this route from which 
the town of Yevay is distinctly visible, distinguished by the 
high square tower of its principal church. The pedestrian 
may rest here a few moments and look round upon the fine 
basin of the lake, mark the various mountains which form 
its enclosures or rise beyond it to the east and south along 
the valley of the Rhone; trace with the eye the rest of his 
journey, and note on both banks the places which he has yet 
to visit. 

A little beyond Saint-Saphorin the slope of the mountain 
becomes more gentle, the valley enlarges, and is rounded to 
the north, and the landscape loses its monotonous aspect. 
The vine still clothes for some distance the hills on the right 
bank, but the pastures and woods reappear on the heights : 
even in the plain, and up to the edge of the road, the country 
is embellished with trees, and presents a considerable variety 
of culture. The change is complete when we have passed 
the village of Corseaux, about a mile this side Yevay. From 
hence, as far as to the town, the road is wide, bordered with 
numerous country-residences, groups of trees, orchards, and 
gardens. Just before entering Vevay we traverse the 
Veveyse, a little river, which has its rise about twelve miles 
above the town at the foot of the Moleson, in the canton of 
Freiburg. It occupies the bottom of a very picturesque 
valley, which extends from Yevay to Bulle and the country 
of Gruybre, and separates Mont Jorat on the west from the 
mountains on the eastern side of the valley, which belong 
to the Alpine system, while the Jorat is but a detached off- 
shoot from the Jura. Embedded in the superior portion of 
its course in a ravine deeply cut in the flanks of the moun¬ 
tains, the stream rushes rapidly into the plain, and often 
ravages the neighbourhood of Yevay despite of the efforts 
which have hitherto been made to contain it. 

Yevay (Fr. Vevey; Ger. Yivis.—-Inn, Trois Couronnes, 
very good), is the prettiest and best-built town in the canton 
of Yaud, and in extent ranking after Lausanne. It is distant 
from the latter leagues by land, and almost the same 
from the port of Ouchy by water. It is built upon a toler- 


150 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


ably regular plan, its form being a triangle, having its base 
supported on the bank of the Leman. It has a population 
of 5000, which is augmenting every day. Its port, one of the 
worst on the lake, is nevertheless much frequented. The 
position of the town rendering it the natural entrepot of the 
various indigenous commodities, and the centre of the com¬ 
merce between the cantons of Yaud, Freiburg, Berne, 
Geneva, and the province of Chablais, calls its population to 
activity, industry, and riches. Its streets are convenient 
and well paved ; the houses, in general somewhat low, have 
a newness which pleases the eye. We might almost take it 
for a little Dutch town which has been transported to the 
foot of the Alps. Vevay has some public edifices in pretty 
good taste. The church of Sainte-Claire is a modern build¬ 
ing, simple and elegant in style : there are also an hotel de 
ville, a hospital, a chateau, a public fountain in black marble, 
and a bridge over the Veveyse in the same material. There 
is also a square, 600 feet in length and 400 feet broad, open¬ 
ing on the lake. The principal church, that of St. Martin, 
is isolated at the extremity of a faubourg, on an esplanade 
raised above the town. It is a Gothic edifice, not without 
beauty; but, like most of the Swiss Protestant churches, it 
has been disfigured by mutilations, which have deprived it 
of a great portion of its primitive elegance. It bears date 
1498, and appears still older, judging by the few architec¬ 
tural data which have been respected in the restoration of 
the monument, where the full-centred Byzantine is allied 
with the arabesque-ogive. In this church are the tombs of 
Ludlow and Broughton, who sought in this country an 
asylum when the restoration of Charles II. placed them in 
danger on account of their share in the execution of 
Charles I. The house in which Ludlow resided is still 
shown on the road to La TourdePeilz. The pretty plat¬ 
form, shaded by chestnut-trees, in front of the portal of St. 
Martin’s, commands a good panoramic view of Vevay and 
its environs. It is the only promenade in the interior of 
the town, unless we compliment with this name the quay 
planted with a double line of trees between the embouchure 
of the Veveyse and the port. Vevay was a fortified town 
at a very remote date. There is every reason to believe that 
it is identical with the Yibiscum or Viviscus of the Romans. 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


151 


Under the domination of the Counts, afterwards Dukes of 
Savoy, it formed part of Chablais. In the course of the war 
which the Swiss sustained against Charles the Bold, duke 
of Burgundy, it was taken and sacked by a Bernese army. 
In the conquest of the Pays de Vaud it was taken by the 
Bernese, and has since continued to participate in the 
fortunes of the canton of Vaud. Every fifth year, about 
the middle of Christmas, a festival, called the Pete des 
Yignerons, is celebrated at Vevay, and presents an odd 
commixture of Pagan ceremonies and rites borrowed from 
Catholicism. It lasts several days, during which the in¬ 
habitants give themselves up to singing, dancing, games, 
and banquets. At such seasons Vevay is crowded with 
visitors from the surrounding country, and beds are at an 
enormous premium. 

The Tour de Peilz, half-a-mile to the east of Vevay, ap¬ 
pears at a distance to be a continuation of that town. It, 
has a port, the ruins of a fosse, and ancient walls, with a 
chateau, built in 1239 by Amedee IV. count of Savoy. A 
large and fine avenue, bordered with poplars, leads thither 
from Vevay. On leaving Tour we re-enter the district of 
the Vive, not quitting it again before reaching the village of 
Montreux. The road lies between two enclosing walls, almost 
as near together as those between Lausanne and Vevay, but 
in the midst of an open country, diversified by the aspect of 
wooded mountains, which lift their crests above the vineyard. 
Through a forest of vine-props we discover on the banks of 
the lake, about two miles beyond Vevay, the celebrated vil¬ 
lage of damns, whose name will live as long as the French 
language, in association with the impassioned scenes of the 
“ Nouvelle Helo’ise.” The traveller, however, who expects to 
find in the romance a more or less faithful description of the 
place, will be lamentably disappointed. The ideal damns, 
the abode of Julie and Saint-Prieux, is a true Elysium; but 
the Clarens of fact, the hamlet of the commune of Cha- 
telard, is nothing but a poor village of vine-dressers and 
fishermen, without a single pleasure-garden, or bosquet, or 
villa, to help one to the least idea of the barony of Etanges. 
It is difficult to conceive the motive of Rousseau in placing 
the scene of his romance in so unpoetic a locality, when he 
had abundance of beautiful sites between Lausanne and 
Vevay to choose among. 


152 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


“ Clarens ! sweet Clarens, birth-place of deep Love, 

Thine air is the young breath of passionate thought: 

Thy trees take root in Love : the snows above 
The very glaciers have his colours caught, 

And sunset into rose hues sees them wrought 
By rays which sleep there lovingly ; the rocks, 

The permanent crags tell here of Love, who sought 
In them a refuge from the worldly shocks, 

Which stir and sting the soul with hope that woos, then mocks. 

Clarens ! by heavenly feet thy paths are trod,— 

Undying Love’s, w r ho here ascends a throne 
To which the steps are mountains ; where the god 
Is a pervading life and light,—so shown 
Not on those summits solely, nor alone 
In the still cave and forest: o’er the flower 
His eye is sparkling, and his breath has blown, 

His soft and summer breath, whose tender power 
Passes the strength of storms in their most desolate hour. 

All things are here of him : from the black pines, 

Which are his shade on high, and the loud roar 
Of torrents, where he listeneth, to the vines 
Which slope his green path downward to the shore, 

Where the bowed waters meet him, and adore. 

Kissing his feet with murmurs : and the wood, 

The covert of old trees with trunks all hoar, 

But light leaves, young as joy, stands where it stood, 

Offering to him, and his, a populous solitude. 

A populous solitude of bees and birds, 

And fairy-form’d and many-coloured things, 

Who worship him with notes moi'e sweet than words, 

And innocently open their glad wings, 

Fearless and full of life the gush of springs, 

And fall of lofty fountains, and the bend 
Of stirring branches, and the bud which brings 
The swiftest thought of beauty, here extend. 

Mingling and made by Love, unto one mighty end. 

He who hath loved not, here would learn that lore, 

And make his heart a spirit: he who knows 
That tender mystery, will love the more : 

For this is Love’s recess, where vain men’s woes, 

And the world’s waste, have driven him far from those. 

For, ’tis his nature to advance or die ; 

He stands not still, but or decays or grows 
Into a boundless blessing, which may vie 
With the immortal lights, in its eternity ! 

’Twas not for fiction chose Rousseau this spot 
Peopling it with affections ; but he found 
It was the scene which passion must allot 
To the mind’s purified beings; ’twas the ground 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


153 


Where early Love his Psyche’s zone unbound, 

And hallowed it with loveliness ; ’tis lone, 

And wonderful, and deep, and hath a sound, 

And sense, and sight of sweetness ; here the Rhone 
Hath spread himself a couch, the Alps have rear’d a throne.” 

A little distance on this side Clarens the road traverses the 
rivulet called in the locality the Baie de Clarens. For the 
greater part of the year it is only a little stream, but in 
rains or after violent storms it is an impetuous torrent, 
which, for want of a bed sufficiently large, expands over a 
triangular plain five or six hundred feet at its base, which 
the inundations have laid bare, and then recovered with sand 
and flint. Above, and at some distance from Clarens, sur¬ 
rounded with verdure and foliage, the chateau of Blonay is 
seen on the top of a hill, about two miles from the lake. 
It marks with tolerable accuracy the point at which the 
VaudoiseAlps commence. Nearer the highway and to Yevay 
is the modern chateau of Hauteville, with its terraces, 
adorned with exotic trees, drawn out on the hill sides, its 
kiosks, and its elegant facade—a worthy decoration of the 
abode of opulence and taste. The height occupied by the 
chateau of Chatelard, some distance to the east, is one of 
the finest points of view in this neighbourhood. The building 
has not lost its antique form and feudal physiognomy so com¬ 
pletely as that of Blonay; it is placed at the entrance of a 
narrow and tortuous valley, which rises rapidly above the 
village of Chatelard, and leads to the Col du Jaman. 

Leaving Clarens behind us, and continuing closely to 
follow the bank of the lake, we soon enter the pretty and 
rich parish of Montreux, composed of several villages 
scattered on the slope of a hill, for about a league, by the 
roadside. This favoured district enjoys one of the most 
delightful exposures to be met with on the shores of the 
Leman, whether the beauty of the views, the richness of the 
vegetation, or the softness of the temperature be considered. 
Sheltered from the cold winds by the mountains which sur¬ 
round it on the north and east, watered by numerous small 
streams, open to the beneficent influences of the sun, gently 
inclined towards the basin of the lake, Montreux owes to 
these natural advantages, as well as to the industry of its 
inhabitants, a fertility of which the most favoured countries 
of Switzerland offer few examples. Chestnuts, almonds, and 


154 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


pomegranates llourisli by the side of fields.of maize and 
vines; and here and there, even on the borders of the wood, 
are little bosquets of laurel, the only specimens which exist 
in Switzerland on this side the Alps. 

Vernex, a pretty hamlet with a port, at some distance be¬ 
yond Clarens, is so advantageously situated, that the pome¬ 
granate is matured in the open air. The pretty village of 
Planches, chief place of the parish of Montreux, of which 
Vernex is a dependence, is about a mile from this place, and 
lies a few hundred paces off the road, on the banks of a torrent 
called the Baie de Montreux. The church, which stands 
isolated on a high terrace, is visible from a considerable dis¬ 
tance. The view from this esplanade is very fine, and is worth 
leaving the road to visit. Montreux, or, to speak more cor¬ 
rectly, the village of Planches, has some good auberges 
(Couronne) and numerous and well-regulated pensions, 
which are the residence not only of invalids, for whom the 
soft and pure air of the valley is prescribed, but of nume¬ 
rous visitors attracted hither by the natural beauties of the 
spot. The rivulet of Montreux occupies the bottom of a 
deep ravine, which opens on the lake, and is crossed by the 
road. Its embouchure is three-eighths of a league from 
Clarens, and a league and a half from Vevay. From this 
point to Villeneuve, in the distance, is less than a league. 
Veyteaux, the last dependency of Montreux, is a large 
hamlet contained in an angle, which is formed by a ravine, 
the foot of the mountain, and the shore. The road itself is 
commanded at this part by a succession of heights, which 
slope rapidly down to the lake, leaving here and there but 
a very narrow passage, closed at the extremity by the castle 
of Chillon. Seated on the right of a defile, on an isolated 
rock in the midst of the waters, this fortress of the middle 
ages is one of the most striking features in the scenery of 
Lake Leman, of which it marks the eastern limit. At the 
distance of seven leagues it is visible to navigators as a 
white spot in the horizon, and from Lausanne to Vevay is 
never out of sight, except where the nature of the road'ex¬ 
cludes the oriental shore of the lake altogether from the 
view. Amedee IV. count of Savoy, master of Chablais and 
the bouches du Rhone', built the castle of Chillon in 1238. 
It was at once the boulevard and the defence of his state, 
an arsenal, and point d’appui from which to undertake new 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


155 


conquests. After two centuries and a half, when the fortune 
of war had subjected the Pays de Yaud to the Bernese 
domination, the castle of Chillon long served as the resi¬ 
dence of the baillis of Yevay. In 1733 it was converted into 
a state prison, and retained this character till the Revolution 
of 1778. It is now a depot of arms and munitions, and oc¬ 
casionally serves for a military guard-house. 

It was in a dark dungeon of this castle that Bonnivard, 
the heroic defender of Genevan liberty, languished six 
years, being chained to a pillar. The ring of iron to which 
he was fastened is still shown here, and the pillar is worn 
with the grating of his chain. There are other cells, darker 
and deeper still, where prisoners were consigned to a living 
death, and with no other communication, even with their 
keepers, than through a hole pierced in the vaulting of theiy 
prison. No staircase leads down to these recesses, but the 
guide conducts the curious to the top of a narrow couloir, 
from which the eye plunges with difficulty to the bottom of 
this terrestrial Erebus. 

“ Chillon ! thy prison is a holy place, 

And thy sad floor an altar; for’t. was trod 
Until his very steps have left a trace 

Worn, as if the cold pavement were a sod, 

By Bonnivard ! May none those marks efface. 

For they appeal from tyranny to God. 

* * * * 

In Chillon’s dungeon, deep and old, 

There are seven columns, massy and grey, 

Dim with a dull imprisoned ray, 

A sunbeam that hath lost its way. 

And through the crevice and the cleft 
Of the thick wall is fallen and left, 

Creeping o’er the floor so damp, 

Like a marsh’s meteor lamp.”—B yron. 

The castle presents, at a little distance, the aspect of an 
irregular mass of buildings, over which a large square cen¬ 
tral tower keeps guard. Two gendarmes stationed at the 
entrance, a concierge and his family, are usually its sole 
inhabitants. The gate is shut and the drawbridge raised 
every evening, with as much formality as if it were still an 
important fortress. One of the gendarmes on duty will show 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


356 

the interior of the castle to strangers, expecting a slight 
gratification. 

At this point the lake attains suddenly a great depth, as 
might be inferred from the angle of inclination which the 
hanks form with the surface of the water. At the base of the 
castle ofChillon the depth is as much as three hundred feet; 
it diminishes as we approach Villeneuve. This towm is only 
separated from Chillon by an interval of a quarter of a 
league. The valley enlarges on the left soon after the castle 
is passed; the road still narrow, shaded and even, keeps the 
borders of the lake, and is only raised just above its strand. 
Before arriving at the walls of Villeneuve, and quitting the 
banks of Leman for the melancholy solitudes of the Bhone, 
the traveller may cast one parting glance at the large and 
brilliant tableau which w r e must shortly leave behind us. 
Lake Leman is seen from here, it is true, only in profile, but 
its width is still considerable; its length, seen in a right 
line, is more than twelve leagues. When the air is calm it 
is like a sheet of glass, in which the two shores are reflected, 
and in which a second earth and sky seem to be reproduced. 
But when a tempestuous wind agitates the water, this tran¬ 
quil lake puts on the aspect of a raging sea. The sharp and 
severe aspect of the mountains which surround it, the depth 
of its waters, the escarpment of its banks, the amplitude of 
its basin, the solitary air of its environs, all combine to add 
to the effect of this imposing spectacle. 

A low and level plain, here cultivated with care, there 
abandoned, a prey to the ravages of the water; orchards and 
marshes, vines and roses, lines of walnut-trees and fields of 
wheat in close neighbourhood with submerged meadows ; 
such is the aspect which the country around Villeneuve pre¬ 
sents, and which is continued up to the very gates of the 
town, whose walls are laved by the lake. A ceinture of 
high hills rises like a wall at the end of the plain, about a 
stone’s throw from the town. The steep declivities repel 
all culture, and that uniform verdure of the holly, brush¬ 
wood, and firs, which clothes them from base to summit, 
supplies all that is wanting to give a sad and wearisome 
character to the landscape. Villeneuve itself (inns, Aigle 
Noir and Croix Blanche) has nothing about it calculated to 
dispel this impression. It is a little old town, notwith¬ 
standing the name which it preserves, surrounded with a 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


157 


wall which is falling to ruin, ill built, ill paved, and only 
redeemed from an appearance of utter desolation by its port, 
which is tolerably well frequented. It has a population of 
only 800, and its air, as may be conceived from its low site 
and marshy environage, is insalubrious. As a slight compen¬ 
sation for its many disadvantages, the trout and carp taken 
here are very superior; the latter are not to be met with in 
any other part of the lake. 

About a mile from Villeneuve, and in front of its port, is 
seen a little island, almost level with the water, on which 
some poplars have been planted; besides that in front of 
Eolle, this is the only island in the lake. It is mentioned by 
Byron in his “ Prisoner of Cliillon :— 

“ And then there was a little isle 
Which in my very face did smile, 

The only one in view; 

A small green isle, it seemed no more, 

Scai'ce broader than my dungeon floor; 

But in it there were three tall trees. 

And o’er it blew the mountain breeze, 

And by it there were waters flowing, 

An d on it there were young flowers growing, 

Of gentle breath and hue.” 

In the season when the steamers perform a regular ser¬ 
vice from one extremity of the lake to the other, an omnibus 
waits at Villeneuve, as well as at Vevay, to convey passen¬ 
gers to Bex, at hours which are adjusted to the arrival of 
the boats. The port, or rather roadstead of Villeneuve, 
is more convenient for landing than that of Vevay. It 
is a league and seven-tenths from this place to Vevay by 
water, and five leagues in a direct line to Ouchy, the port of 
Lausanne. 

We have now completed the first and most interesting 
portion of our route. In commencing the second, of which a 
more rapid account may suffice, the following summary of 
distances will be useful:— 

Rennaz, 3-8 of league; Roche, 3-8 ; Yvorne, 5-8 ; Aigle, 
3-8; Bex, l 1. 1-2; Saint-Maurice, 3-4 (4 1. from Villeneuve, 
201. 3-4 from Geneva; Massongy, 1-2; Montliey,3-4; Petit- 
Colombey, 1-2; Muraz, 1-2; Vionnaz, 3-4; Vauvrier, 5-8; 
Porte-du-Sex, 1-4; Les Yvettes, 3-8; Port-Valais, 1-4; Le 
Boveret, 1-2 (5 1. from Saint-Maurice, 9 1. from Villeneuve) 


158 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


The country which opens before us on leaving Villeneuve 
is a low valley, with a level bottom, extending to a length of 
four or five leagues, and of a breadth varying from half a 
league to a league and three-quarters from the embouchure 
of the Rhone to the defile of Saint-Maurice. The Rhone 
divides the valley into two portions, the right of which be¬ 
longs to the canton of Vaud, and the other to the Valais. 
It is enclosed by high mountains throughout its entire ex¬ 
tent ; two of these, the Dents du Midi and the Morcle, form 
very prominent objects in the scenery, elevating their peaks, 
or rather groups of peaks, into the region of perpetual 
snows. They occupy the extremity of the valley, where their 
bases approach each other so closely as to leave but a very 
narrow passage for the waters of the Rhone. This basin, 
which physical geography assigns entirely to the Bas Valais, 
of which it is the natural prolongation, is dotted in general 
from one end to the other with a vegetation of great rich¬ 
ness, and has a soil susceptible of every variety of culture. 
The invasions of the Rhone, however, have converted a por¬ 
tion of this ground into marshes and swampy meadows, 
which render the air habitually humid and unhealthy. 
These inconveniences, which must diminish with the in¬ 
creasing cultivation of the country and the embanking of the 
river, are redeemed by the beauty of the views and an inex¬ 
haustible variety of sites, by turns grand and riant. The 
recent construction of a road along the left bank of the 
Rhone has given to this side a certain animation which, 
without degrading its Alpine aspect, does away with that 
appearance of solitude, torpor, and misery which, to so great 
an extent, characterises the Valais. Houses, enclosures, and 
new clearings multiply from day to day on the line of road 
from St.-Gingolph to St.-Maurice. The Government of the 
Valais continues to obey the impulse given to it by the French 
administration, by proceeding to the completion of the road 
in the yet unfinished portions, and in watching over the 
maintenance of the whole. The right bank, imprinted with 
an older civilisation, offers on every hand the proofs of an 
intelligent agriculture and a numerous population, rich in 
the products of its industry, and a soil long since fertilized. 

On leaving Villeneuve, on the side of the Rhone valley, we 
cross the torrent of Eau Froide; the road then turns to the 
left, following the direction of the mountains which connect 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


150 


the basin of the Leman with that of the Rhone. For some 
distance it scarcely rises above the level of a marshy plain, 
on which, one hundred and seven years before the Christian 
era, Divicon, chief of the Helvetians, defeated a Roman army 
under the Consul Lucius Cassius, who lost his life in the 
combat. The village of Rennaz, about a mile to the south of 
Villeneuve, in a drier and more airy site, marks with preci¬ 
sion the confines of the valleys of the Leman and Rhone. 
Mont Arvel, one of the inferior gradines of the Tour d’Ai, a 
mountain which commands Villeneuve, here commences the 
chain of mountains of the right bank of the Rhone; while 
the Dent de la Cornette, on the left bank, is the first link in 
the chain which borders the high road of the Valais on the 
confines of Switzerland and Savoy. On the side which we 
now travel, however, the change in the direction of the 
mountains is so gentle, that the traveller is liable to fancy 
that he is coasting the lake some time after he has been 
following the course of the Rhone. From Rennaz to the 
village of Roche the valley narrows, and the mountains 
advance to meet each other. Passing through Roche, a 
picturesque village, we come to Aigle. The valley widens 
considerably here to the left of the road, and is enclosed by 
an amphitheatre of hills which rise gently 3 from a plain. 

Aigle (inn, La Croix Blanche) is a pretty town of 
1800 inhabitants, and has made some figure in the history 
of this portion of Switzerland. There is a good view of the 
surrounding country from a height on which the quartier 
called La Cloitre is built. At some distance from Aigle the 
road ascends, and passes between enclosing hills for about 
two miles, when it opens on a plain, which it does not leave 
until we arrive at 

Bex. Inns, Durr and L’Union.—This town, with about 
3000 inhabitants, is built in a pretty situation at the foot of 
a mountain of a sugar-loaf form. Its streets are tolerably 
regular, and some of the houses exhibit a degree of ele¬ 
gance. There is an agreeable promenade along the banks 
of the Avenson, on which the Bex is built. The salt-mines 
and the works connected with them give employment to a 
considerable proportion of the population, and an aspect of 
activity to the town. Its soft and healthy air, with some 
medicinal springs, attract hither every summer a number of 
valetudinarians and others, for whose accommodation there 


160 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


exist some good pensions. The salt-works of Bex, until a 
recent date the only establishment of the kind in Switzer¬ 
land, are situated to the north-east of the town, in the in¬ 
terior of the secondary mountains, at the foot of the lofty 
chain which terminates at Morcle. Although the salt- 
springs near Bex were discovered as early as 1554, they 
were not worked with intelligence and success before 1613, 
when they came into the hands of the Government of Berne, 
since which date the production of salt has been carried on 
with activity and perseverance. A visit to the salt-works 
may be made either by the road which leads to Bevieux or 
that of Devens; tw r o hamlets, or rather groups of houses, 
near the summit and the two sides of the Montet, the last 
echelon of a high mountain, which commands the plain of 
Bex on the east. Bevieux is reached from Bex by half an 
hour’s walking. At this place are the buildings containing 
the boilers and other apparatus for the extraction of salt, 
and a building in which the salt water, which has been led 
thither by an aqueduct from the interior of the mines, is 
purified and filtrated. From here a path leads through 
meadows and woods to Devens, where a collection of ap¬ 
paratus like those of Bevieux is found. From Devens an 
ascending path leads to a place called La Bouillet, at which 
is the entrance of a subterranean gallery, leading to the 
interior of the mines. We may enter the latter either by 
the gallery of Bouillet, or by that of the Invalides or the 
Fondement, situated half a league higher up, and communi¬ 
cating with the preceding. From Bouillet to the Fondement 
a steep and tortuous path leads along the ravine of the 
Grionne, where a guide and a miner’s cape, with lamps, &c., 
may be procured. The gallery is pierced in the rock for a 
length of about 4000 feet; it is about 3§ feet wide and G^- 
high, and is provided with a revelement of carpentry to 
prevent accidents from the falling in of portions of the 
water and roof. This avenue is bordered on each side with 
little channels, cut for the purpose of carrying otf the water, 
which comes down abundantly from the mountain : that on 
the right is sulphureous; that on the left, briny. A freshwater 
stream, which serves to put in motion the machinery of the 
works, is carried along a trench cut in the middle of the 
pathway of the gallery, and covered over with roughly-joined 
planks. About eight minutes’ walking brings us into a place 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


101 


called the Rencontre, where the miners at work in the upper 
portion of the mountain meet those who work in the gallery. 
Another two-minutes’ -walk brings us to a point at which a 
flight of stairs is cut in the rock, by which the workmen in 
the upper portion of the mountain can communicate with 
this souterrain. About five minutes further on, keeping the 
main gallery, and to the right of this, is the great reservoir 
of brine. Having entered by a narrow opening, we ascend 
half-a-dozen wooden steps, always moist and slippery, and 
then redescend by as many steps on the other side to the 
margin of the briny lake, contained in a square cavity, each 
of whose sides measures about 100 feet, and 9 feet in depth. 
The echo over this cavern is very remarkable. On leaving 
the chamber, and passing along an ascending gallery for 
about seven minutes, we come to a vertical wheel about 
36 feet in diameter, which is set in motion bv a stream of 
water falling from the upper portion of the mountain, and 
works the pumps that draw up the briny and sulphureous 
waters from the deep wells in which they are allowed to 
accumulate, and raise them to the level of the channels in 
the sides of the gallery by which we entered. There is a 
shaft above the wheel for the ventilation of the mine, 
through which the sky may be seen in clear weather. These 
apparatus and arrangements are repeated in successive por¬ 
tions of the mines, which the stranger may visit or pass over 
at pleasure. The salt water thus obtained is first purified 
and concentrated by evaporation, and afterwards boiled in 
salt-pans. On leaving Bouillet we arrive, by a descent of 
a few minutes, at Devens, from which the distance to Bex is 
about three miles. 

A pretty road of about three miles brings us now to 
St.-Maurice. On reaching this town, the fortifications 
erected in 1831 to defend its defile are seen crowning the 
heights, which inclose the course of the Rhone on both 
banks. The bridge of St.-Maurice is the property of the 
canton of Valais. A customs-office and toll-house have 
been erected on it, and a gendarme ofValajs is stationed 
there to inspect passports. The bridge terminates at the 
foot of the castle of St.-Maurice, in front of a high square 
tower, visible from a great distance, and a very eligible post 
of observation in time of war. A gate placed at this part of 
the road formerly closed every evening the pass of the Bas 

M 


162 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


Yalais, for on the two sides of this defile the interior of the 
country can only be penetrated by mountain paths, so nar¬ 
row and dangerous that the most intrepid w r ould fear to 
venture there in the dark, and the boldest swimmer would 
hesitate to breast here the current of the Rhone. A few paces 
beyond the bridge and castle we begin to discover the 
first houses of 

St.-Maurice (inn, L’Union), a town of 1300 inhabitants, 
21 leagues from Geneva by the route of the canton of Yaud, 
and 17 leagues by that of the Chablais. The principal 
street, parallel with the Rhone, is regularly laid out, and 
some of the houses are tolerably well built. Its most 
remarkable edifice is the abbey, with its church, rebuilt after 
the great fire in 1693. St.-Maurice, which appears to have 
existed in the age when the Nantuates, the ancient in¬ 
habitants of the country, passed under the Roman domina¬ 
tion, is designated by the Latin authors who wrote before 
the fifth century by the name of Tarnaias, or Tarnoda. It 
was afterwards known as Agaunus, or Agaunum, wdiich 
name it exchanged in the ninth century for that of St.- 
Maurice. The plain to the south of the town is celebrated 
in the fastes of the Catholic church as having been, in 302, 
the theatre of the martyrdom of the Theban legion, mas¬ 
sacred with Maurice, its chief, by order of Maximilian- 
Hercules. St.-Maurice, having long been possessed by the 
house of Savoy, was conquered in 1475, as well as a great 
portion of the Bas Valais, by the inhabitants of the Haute 
Valais, who were allies of the Swiss in the Burgundian war. 
The castle at the enriance of the defile was built a few years 
afterwards, to assure this conquest. The people of the 
district are still Savoyards by their language, which is nearly 
identical with that of Chablais ; but their costume, physiog¬ 
nomy, and manner of life, as well as the construction of 
their habitations, have a Valaisian aspect. The women have 
in general an agreeable expression of countenance, to which 
their pretty national chapeau may constitute something, but 
the rest of their apparel cannot conceal an unpleasing da- 
formity, from which very few are exempt. Goitre already 
shows itself in repulsive forms ; cretinism, another endemic 
infirmity, is not altogether unknown at St.-Maurice, al¬ 
though less common than in the upper valley of the Rhone. 

Just outside St.-Maurice, on the road to Martigny, we see, 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


163 


on the right, the Hermitage of Notre Dame clu Sex, built on 
a height amongst the rocks, which here forms the base of the 
Dents du Midi. This singular retreat, which from afar might 
be taken rather for an eagle’s nest than the abode of man, 
being situated 600 feet above the bank of the Rhone, of 
course commands an extensive prospect. A little further on 
we see the chapel of Veroliez, raised to the memory of the 
Theban legion ; the lugubrious aspect of the plain disposes 
the mind to believe implicitly in the fact of this martyrdom, 
but the chapel and its bad frescoes need not detain us one 
minute, especially as we are only a league and three-quarters 
from one of the most admired cascades of Switzerland. This 
fall, whose ignoble and bizarre name of the Pisse-Vache 
good taste bids us exchange for the more ancient de¬ 
signation of the Waterfall of the Sallenche, is seen on 
the flank of one of the mountains on the left bank of 
the Phone, a short distance from the road, near the ham¬ 
let of Miville. A stream, which at certain times assumes 
the proportions of a small river, escapes from a deep ravine 
between two rocks crowned with trees, and falls almost ver¬ 
tically from a height of 280 feet. When its waters are scanty 
they spread themselves over the polished surface of the rock, 
but when abundant they are precipitated with great noise, 
and form a large cloud of spray. The best time for seeing 
the fall of the Sallenche is in the morning, when the sun's 
rays produce a rainbow. 

In quitting this cascade, the chief object of our excursion 
into a mountainous and savage valley, we have not the 
option of varying our route, for the right bank only presents 
here narrow paths traced on the edges of fearful precipices. 
A ravine cut by the water in the steep slopes of the? Morcle, 
opposite ihe fall of the Sallenche, separates the Vaudois and 
Valaisian territories on this bank. The inhabitants of the 
border hamlets communicate with each other by a zigzag 
path on the margin of slippery rocks, rising in places to 
the height of several hundred feet perpendicularly above the 
Rhone. This path, the sight of which is almost enough to 
make one giddy, is called the Pass of la Grotte. 

We at length leave St.-Maurice by the left bank of the 
Rhone, and travel by a good road to Massongy, opposite 
Bex. From this village to Monthy the route deviates to the 
west, following the direction of the mountains of the west 


104 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


bank. Mon thy is a busy little town at the debouche of 
the Val de Lie. Although only in size a village, it has its 
grand square, its market-hall, church, and hospital, and a 
covered bridge over the Yiege. We now pass rapidly on, not 
without many backward glances at the fine mountain scenery 
behind us, to Vionnaz, opposite Aigle. On our right we 
have for some distance the canal of Stockalper, excavated a 
century ago by a rich resident of that name, to drain the 
marshes of the neighbouring valley. From this point we 
proceed through Vauvrier to the defile of the Port of Sex, 
guarded by an old castle. Two miles farther on is Port- 
Yalais, but no longer, as its name would indicate, washed 
by the waters of the Leman, which, however, is now once 
more visible from the road. Another two miles brings 
us to Boveret, on the borders of the lake. Just before 
arriving thither we perceive the ruins of an old castle, under 
the walls of which a body of Bemesa troops was defeated by 
Amedee, first Count of Savoy. 

Having gained the starting-place of the last and briefest 
section of our tour of Lake Leman, our third distance-table 
will here find its place. 

Saint-Gingolph, 3-4league; Trelou, 3-8; Bret, 1-8 ; Meil- 
lerie, 7-8; La Tour Ronde, 1; Maxilly, 1-2 ; La Grande Rive, 
faubourg d’Evian, 1-2 ; Evian, 1-8; Amphion, 3-4; Pont de 
la Dranse, 1-2 ; Thonon, 5-8 (C 1. 1-8 from Boveret); Marclaz, 
5-8; Jussy-en-Chablais, 3-4; Bonatraix, 1-4; Sciez, 1-8; 
Massongier, 7-8 ; Douvaine, 1-2 ; Genevese frontier, 1; Cor- 
sier, 1-4 ; Vesenaz, 5-8 ; Cologny, 1-2 ; Geneva, 5-8 (6 1. 1-8 
from Thonon ; 12 1. 1-4 from Boveret; 17 1. 1-4 from Saint- 
Maurice). 

We now find ourselves on the confines of the Valais and 
Savoy. From the road on this side of the lake the more 
beautifid shores opposite are seen to great advantage. 
The eye can scan the highest terrace, La Vaux, and 
count the vine-covered gradines which rise, without in¬ 
terruption, from the Vaudois bank to the crest of the 
Jorat. Following the contour of the lake, we see in suc¬ 
cession Vevay, with it's long alleys of poplars; the valley 
of the Vevayese; Clarens, which, seen at a distance em¬ 
bosomed in a magnificent landscape, puts on that ideal 
charm which the imagination loves to attach to it; the 
opulent village of Montreux, placed on a slope, shaded with 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


165 


every variety of culture; Chillon, isolated like a rock in the 
lake, with its Gothic towers and keep ; Villeneuve, sitting in 
sadness on the strand at the entrance of the swamps of the 
Rhone; and, lastly, the river, pouring, by a double em¬ 
bouchure, its muddy waters into the basin where they 
are to be purified. If now we lift our eyes above tbe 
margin of the lake we see to the east of Vevay, where the 
Jorat terminates, a chain of high mountains, enclosing the 
space which we have just surveyed. At first gently inclined 
and traversed by smiling vales, they gradually put on the 
wildest forms as they approach the Rhone and embrown 
the landscape by their wooded sides. Less happily placed 
to observe the ranges and forms of the mountains on this 
side of the lake, we are able, however, to discover, at an im¬ 
mense height above our heads, some of the rugged peaks 
which form the group of the Dents d’Oche, the bases of 
which descend in abrupt gradations to the road which we 
travel. Numerous streams flow down their sides, here dis¬ 
tilling in silver threads over moss-covered rocks, there rush¬ 
ing in brawling torrents, and making their way to the basin, 
whose waters take up and reflect back the mingled beauties 
of this landscape. 

Midway between Boveret and St.-Gingolpli is a grassy 
eminence, shaded with young trees, forming a pretty pro¬ 
montory by the roadside. This esplanade forms an agree¬ 
able resting-place for the pedestrian, and is a spot much 
sought out by landscape-painters. 

St.-Gingolph (inn, Poste), a large and pretty village, 
almost concealed by the sinuosities of the road, is at 
length discovered, surrounded on three sides with gardens 
and meadows, which slope down to the edge of the lake. 
The upper portion of the village belongs to Valais; the 
lower, separated from it by a ravine, to Savoy. There is 
in the Savoyard village a customs-office and a station of 
gendarmes. Travellers coming from the Valais must submit 
their passports and luggage to inspection. The port of 
St.-Gingolph is exactly opposite to that of Vevay. 

The road from St.-Gingolph to the Tour Ronde is of 
modern construction, and not very long ago the inhabitants of 
the villages on the lake, mostly fishers and woodmen, could 
only communicate with each other by water. The terraced 
road whichnow exists was constructed by Napoleon’s engineers, 


160 


GENEVA AND LAKE LEMAN. 


who blasted the enormous rocky masses which bordered the 
lake on the south-east for about three leagues. Meillerie, for¬ 
merly a miserable village, has considerably increased since 
the formation of the new route. Byron was once nearly lost 
off this shore in a storm. At Tour Eoncle the mountains, 
in which the road has been cut, gradually decline, and the 
road passes through a district rich in vegetation, and in 
sections beautifully shaded. The remains of dense old 
forests are seen at intervals perpetually recurring, and al¬ 
ternating with modern clearings. 

Evian (inns, Hotel du Nord and Poste) is the second 
village of the Chablais, and has about 1000 inhabitants. Its 
port has a semicircular jetty, with its convexity towards 
Lausanne. Its pretty situation, and the reputation of its 
mineral spring, attract a number of visitors, who reside 
here for certain periods in the summer. Amphion is a very 
pleasing village, about two miles from Evian, with a chalybeate 
spring. The road afterwards lies through the valley of the 
Dranse, over its wooden bridge, through the village of 
Bepaille, and thence to the old town of Thonon, the capital 
of Chablais (inn, Les Balances). The town is built on the 
eastern side of the bay of Thonon, and rises boldly in a 
little amphitheatre from the river. The ville basse, in which 
is the port, is inhabited by a very poor population; the 
haute ville is much larger, and has, beside its church, a col¬ 
lege, hospital, and hotel de ville: the latter not unworthy a 
large town. At the eastern extremity of the town is a good 
esplanade, which commands the port and the lake. It occu¬ 
pies the site of a stronghold demolished in the sixteenth 
century, after a siege, when Chablais was conquered by the 
Bernese and Valaisians. Thonon has about 4000 inhabitants ; 
it was the birthplace of General Desaix. 

Two roads lead from Thonon to Geneva: one direct, 
which is traversed by public conveyances, passing by Dou- 
vaine, and reaching the Genevan territory a league beyond 
that village; the other, deviating much more from the lake 
than the first, and being longer by a league and a half, passes 
along the base of the mountain of Lower Chablais, and not 
rejoining the highway until attaining the gates of Geneva. 
This latter has been of late so improved as to be really a good 
highway, and has some very pretty sites. For the sake*of com¬ 
pleteness we should mention, hut not to recommend, a third 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


167 


way, which follows the banks of the lake, and rejoins the 
high roacl about six miles on this side of Geneva. The direct 
road, by which ninety-nine out of a hundred travellers jour¬ 
ney, is almost rectilinear. It leaves the lake about two 
leagues from Thonon, returning to it as it approaches 
Geneva. It is very hilly and dusty, and although passing 
through a well-wooded district, entirely devoid of shade, 
it is not to be travelled with any comfort on foot in the 
summer season. At Douvaine we pass the Sardinian cus¬ 
toms-office, and enter the Genevan territory, on the dry and 
gravelly soil of which we shall no more meet with those 
majestic chestnuts and walnuts, and other fine trees, which 
have hitherto gratefully relieved the eye. The lake is en¬ 
tirely concealed from the road here by a thickly-wooded . 
plain. At Vesenaz the lake is again seen, and Mont Blanc 
and the glaciers of Faucigny, which were lost sight of on the 
other side of the lake, and have on this shore been con¬ 
cealed by the mountains of Voiron, again become visible. At 
Bessinges, the culminating point of this plateau, we obtain 
a splendid view, which embraces at once the lake and the 
high Alps. On the north and west the horizon is bounded by 
the Jura, the Saleve, the Mont de Sion, and the Vouache, 
the last ramifications of the Alps of Savoy which bend to¬ 
ward the Jura, and with it close the valley. This enclosure 
of mountains is interrupted by the narrow passage which the 
Rhone has worn for itself between the two chains. A pleas¬ 
ing amphitheatre of hills rises around the town of Geneva. 
The two shores of the Leman advance towards each other to 
form its port, the gulf is covered with boats, and all wears 
the aspect of life and animation. At length we return to our 
starting-point, having accomplished a distance of thirty-eight 
leagues around the lake on both sides of the first valley of 
the Rhone. 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 

Before leaving for Chamonix, passports must be vised by 
the Sardinian Consul (fee, four francs), unless the traveller 
has taken the wise precaution of getting the Sardinian Am¬ 
bassador’s vise in London, which is given gratis. 

The distance from Geneva to Chamonix is nearly fifty 
English miles, and the journey is easily made in the day, by 


108 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


taking the diligence which leaves for Sallanches even’ morn¬ 
ing at seven, arriving at Chamonix about six p.m. Those 
who prefer a private conveyance will, unless they set out 
very early, he obliged to sleep on the road, at Sallanches 
or St. Martin. A writer who, having lived many years in the 
neighbourhood, gave his information to the public of Geneva, 
affords us ample particulars of this part of Savoy. 

On quitting Geneva (he says) we pass through the 
town of Chene, at the extremity of which a small brook 
divides the Genevese from the Sardinian territory. The 
great and little Saleve are at some distance to the right. It 
is impossible not to be struck by the instantaneous change 
which occurs on entering Savoy, in the appearance of the 
« people and country. While up to the extreme limit of the 
canton of Geneva everything bears an appearance of clean¬ 
liness, order, and comfort; on entering Savoy, a sad differ¬ 
ence strikes the eye—a dissolute population in rags, miserable 
wooden huts on each side, and every token of poverty, vice, 
and want. Such are the effects of the douane, which causes 
the population of the frontier to prefer the idle existence 
and exciting hazard of a livelihood gained by smuggling to 
one of steady industry; and such is the natural consequence 
of a frontier position, which affords a ready escape for bad 
characters from the jurisdiction of one country into that of 
another. 

The first village, after the frontier of Savoy, is Anne- 
masse, an hour and a quarter distant from Geneva: here the 
baggage is inspected at the Custom-house, and passports 
examined by the carabiniers royaux. Every civility con¬ 
sistent with the execution of their duty will be experienced 
at the hands of these employes. 

The little Saleve continues on our right; at its foot we 
observe the small chateau of Morney; on the left are the 
mountains of the Voiron. In front, the hill of Monthoux, 
scene of the battle of 1330, between Hugh of Geneva and 
the Baron of Faufigny against Aymon, count of Savoy; 
and of a second engagement in 1591, between the troops of 
the Duke of Savoy and those of Geneva assisted by France, 
when the old castle which crowned this height was rased. 

After quitting Annemasse the new road turns to the 
right, through large vineyards, above the banks of the Arve, 
until its junction with the Menoge; whence it winds under 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


169 


the hill above the ravines of the latter, until the torrent is 
crossed on a new stone bridge erected lately, at a consider¬ 
able expense, upon the structure of an ancient one. At 
about three-quarters of a league above the opposite bank is 
the village of Nangis, after which are the ruins of an old 
castle on the right of the road. The Voirons continue on 
our left; on the opposite side are a succession of well-wooded 
hills, called the Bornes. We then arrive at a cross-road, 
one branch of which descends towards the old castle of 
Bellecombe, and traverses the Arve by a wooden bridge, the 
other passes through the small town of St. Jeoire towards 
the valleys of Samoens and Sixt. 

The next village is Contamines, whence we follow a suc¬ 
cession of hills and descents along the base of the Mole, 
bordered on one side by vineyards, on the other by a fine 
view of the Arve, whose course is here divided into numerous 
branches, and intersected by low woody islands. Beyond 
this are the valley and town of La Pioclie, with a variety of 
hills, terminated by the forests and rocks near Thorens and 
the Bornands. To the left, a short way beyond Contamines, 
are the ruins of the castle of Faufigny, and the hill called 
Mount Calvary, covered with a number of glittering crosses 
placed there as offerings of devotion. Few travellers are 
met on the road; an occasional beggar asks for alms, or a 
waggon-load of calves passes us on the way to Geneva for sale. 

We then descend into the small plain of Bonneville, 
having three remarkable mountains before us ; on the right 
the Brezon, opposite it the Mole, beyond which the point of 
Machilli commands the valley of Samoens or Taninge. 

Bonneville, capital of the province of Fau$igny, and 
distant six leagues from Geneva, is a small town of about 
1800 inhabitants on the banks of the Arve. There are two 
good hotels, the Couronne, and Balances. It is regularly 
built, and the main street contains a handsome alley of lime- 
trees. It contains no manufactory of any kind, and is 
chiefly peopled by employes of the governor and persons 
connected with the legal tribunal, the latter of which, as 
there is scarcely a person in Savoy who cannot boast of 
having one or two law-suits on hand, gives lucrative occu¬ 
pation to a variety of limbs of the law. In Savoy a lawsuit 
is transmitted from generation to generation, as a sort of 
heir-loom. 


170 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


Two roads diverge from the middle of the town : that on 
the right hank of the Arve leads through the picturesque 
village of Marigny, over the hill of Chatillon to the valleys of 
Samoens and Sixt; the other, which leads to Chamonix, 
crosses the Arve on a stone bridge hy the side of a column 
erected in honour of Charles Felix, king of Sardinia, who 
had rendered a great service to the inhabitants of Fau?igny, 
hy making embankments against the ravages of the Arve. 
We follow an easterly direction, through a fertile plain, 
shaded by a great quantity of walnut and fruit-trees, at the 
foot of the Brezon and Mont Saxonnet. On the opposite 
side, the base of the Mole is covered with vineyards, farther 
on is the peak of Macliilli; and between them we observe 
the river Giffre, which rises at Sixt and falls into the Arve 
near Marigny. The view is terminated towards the east by 
the range of hills at the foot of Mont Buet, whose oblong 
summit, covered with eternal snow, rises 10,133 feet above 
the sea, and commands the other heights above the valley. 

Scionzier is the only village of consequence on this 
road. It is at the foot of a well-wooded mountain, crowned 
hythe immense forests of the Beposoir, where, in the depths 
of a solitary valley, the order of the Chartreux have a convent. 

The rest of the way is very agreeable. We traverse a 
small plain bordered with tine oaks and fruit-trees. On the 
left, the ruins of the old castle of Mussel appear on an iso¬ 
lated eminence among the thick foliage of a small forest. 
On a height in the distance are the church and remaining 
walls of the castle of Chatillon. 

We enter Cluses by a new stone bridge over the Arve. 
The town contains about 1200 inhabitants, and consists of 
one street newly built. The old bourgwas in a narrow gorge 
between the Arve and the rocks which terminate the valley, 
and was entirely consumed hy tire in 1843. This place, with 
the neighbouring villages of Scionzier and Arraches, is cele¬ 
brated as a manufactory of the works of musical boxes 
and watch wheels for Geneva and the Cliaux des Fonds; a 
branch of industry which is the chief resource of the inha¬ 
bitants, and procures a livelihood for the deserving young 
people of both sexes. 

Leaving Cluses, the road enters the valley of Sallanches 
by a narrow and picturesque gorge, between the Arve and 
overhanging cliffs. It follows a southerly direction, where 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


171 


the windings of the river from time to time scarcely leave 
room for the road. The scenery is most varied, sometimes 
offering us the prospect of green groves, small cascades, and 
sloping lawns, and at others a succession of bare crags and 
frowning rocks. 

At about a league from Cluses we arrive at the foot of 
the path which leads to the Grotte de Balme. A wooden 
building on the roadside is fitted up for the reception of 
travellers, and guides are always in attendance. These ca¬ 
verns, which bear some resemblance to those of Derbyshire, 
are well worthy a visit. A zigzag ascending path leads to 
the principal entry, which is at about 700 feet above the 
Arve. The opening is almost semicircular, ten feet high 
and near twenty wide. The length of the interior is about 
1000 feet, its height varies ; sometimes the gallery is wide, 
lofty, and well proportioned ; at others there is hardly room 
to pass ; and farther on we meet with lofty vaulted chambers 
covered with stalactites. A thick crust forms itself under 
foot, and lies on the bottom upon the surface of the stagnant 
water, which has oozed through the sides of the gallery. 
The stalactites are of a great thickness, extremely white, and 
of a dazzling brilliancy. 

About the middle of the cavern is a deep pit, of which 
many curious histories are related, for in ancient times it 
was supposed to contain an immense treasure guarded by a 
dragon. After numerous failures to explore it, twelve liege 
men and true, stout burgesses of the town of Cluses, armed 
with swords, pistols, holy water, relics, and wax tapers, thus 
dreading no fleshly or ghostly enemy, determined on an in¬ 
vasion of the domains of the evil one. Having screwed up 
their courage, six of them Avere let down by ropes, and de¬ 
scended Avith the holy weapons to the bottom of the pit; while 
their comrades mounted guard, SAvord in hand, ready to 
despatch the enemy on his attempting to escape aboA'e. 
When arrived at the bottom they found some chamois bones, 
two copper bracelets, a quantity of gravel, and stones. A 
small opening led them into a chamber, one half of Avhich 
Avas under water, hut without trace of the treasure. They 
pretended to have seen on one of the sides of this place a 
bas relief of an instrument like a violin, sculptured on the 
rock, and done over in colours. The upshot was, that they 
returned extremely mortified by the ill success of the excur- 


172 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


sion, and still more so by the jeers and scoffs of all their 
townspeople, who had come to meet them and aid in carry¬ 
ing home the spoils. 

The extremity of the gallery beyond this pit does not 
break off abruptly, but becomes so low as to be no longer 
passable. The people say, that it extends two leagues far¬ 
ther. There are two lateral branches left and right, which 
lead to semicircular openings over precipices. 

On returning to the valley, we remark near the roadside, at 
about a quarter of a league beyond the grotto, several powerful 
springs of very pure water, which, after forming a rapid 
stream, fall into the Arve. There is every reason to believe 
that these sources proceed from a mountain lake at about 
5000 feet elevation, called the Lac de Flene, since it is 
above the spot, and its waters have no other issue. The 
road is still hemmed in between lofty rocks and the Arve. 
Before arriving at the village of Maglan it is advisable not 
to loiter, as large fragments of rock are frequently detached, 
and traversing the road in their descent destroy everything 
before them. 

Maglan is nearly half way between Cluses and Sallanches. 
On quitting it the valley becomes larger, and at about a 
league’s distance is a splendid cascade on the left, called the 
Nant d’Arpenaz, the fall of which, resembling in transpa¬ 
rence a veil of gauze, or a shower of pearls, is not less than 
800 feet high, and contains at times a great volume of water. 

The structure of some rocks near this point is very re¬ 
markable. Two or three in particular present a variety of 
circular, spiral, horizontal, and vertical stratifications, of 
mixed brown and white on the same surface. On the right 
the banks of the Arve are covered, almost up to the summit 
of the mountains, with an immensity of verdant beech and 
fir-woods. 

The remainder of the road passes through orchards and 
meadows to St. Martin, where the Hotel du Mont Blanc is 
the chief inn on the road to Chamonix. 

To reach Sallanches is a ten-minutes’ walk across the 
Arve, by an old stone bridge. The position of the new town, 
built on the site of the old one, destroyed by fire in 1840, is 
most picturesque. It is a very pretty thriving place of about 
3500 inhabitants, built with much regularity and cleanliness. 
There are two good hotels, the Bellevue and the Leman. 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


173 


Opposite to the town, on the north, is the Aiguille tie 
Varens, 8328 feet high. In front, for the first time, we have a 
clear and uninterrupted view of Mont Blanc, whose unmasked 
dimensions astonish the observer. In misty weather, when 
its lower regions are hidden from view, it is almost impossible 
to believe that the summit, which towers so far above the 
clouds, is a terrestrial object. To a casual observer it ap¬ 
pears to be a white cloud, and it is only when the wind has 
swept away the wreaths of mist from its sides that the eye 
can be undeceived, and measure the immense space which 
unites its solid base to its lofty summit. 

On the heights behind the town are the fertile parishes 
of Combloux and St. Rocs, under the mountains of the Forz. 

As the road from hence to Chamonix becomes narrow 
and difficult, a regulation exists by which public conveyances 
can go no farther. Light two-horse cars, guided by expe¬ 
rienced drivers, are provided, and will be found best adapted 
for the mountain passes. They convey four passengers 
each, at four francs and a-half per place. 

The distance from St. Martin to Servoz is about three 
leagues. The road follows the banks of the Arve in a south¬ 
easterly direction, and is bordered on both sides by conti¬ 
nual orchards of a variety of plum-trees, the chief product of 
this spot. On the left, at some distance above, we see va¬ 
rious dispersed cottages and farm-houses, of the village of 
Passy; and farther on its church appears through an open¬ 
ing in the surrounding trees. On the right is a cheerless 
prospect, for a great extent of the valley below is lost to cul¬ 
tivation and rendered useless by the frequent overflowings 
and meanderings of the Arve. This is much to be regretted, 
considering the value of land in these populous and circum¬ 
scribed valleys. 

On the church porch at Passy are two Latin inscriptions, 
or ex-votos ; one from a priest charged with the care of a 
treasure, who renders thanks to Mars ; the other from a go¬ 
vernor, who expresses his gratitude to the same god for the * 
preservation of his son. 

In front are the heights of St. Gervais and glaciers of 
the Miage and Bionassay ; on the right, the Mont Joly ; on 
the left, the Aiguille de "Varens. 

About a league and a half beyond St. Martin we cross 
the stream which issues from the cascade of Clffide, and 


174 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


arrive at the foot of the hill of that name. The ascent is 
very long; it leads through the tillage, and is agreeably bor¬ 
dered by vineyards interspersed with spreading walnut-trees. 
On arriving near the last turn, opposite some vines on the 
top of the hill, is an admirable view of the curious cascade 
among some low rocks on the left. It consists of three falls : 
the first, of about one hundred feet, is precipitated into a 
hollow of the rock; rebounding from this basin, the water is 
divided into two distinct cascades, of almost semicircular form, 
whose arches descend in face of each other without mingling 
their waters, and make a second fall of about the same 
height. On the summit of the hill we traverse a rivulet, 
formerly supplied by the beautiful little lake of Chede, so 
celebrated as the mirror in which Mont Blanc was reflected. 
This charming object no longer exists, having been entirely 
choked up in 1837 by an immense avalanche of earth and 
gravel, washed down in a thunder-storm from the mountain 
above. 

It is reported that below the village of Chede, in the 
plain which we have just left, the Romans had a station or 
town called Dionysium ; but no remains of it exist. Near 
the summit of these rocks, on the left, which are called the 
Chain du Fiz, was a mountain named the Derochoir. In 
1751 its cliffs fell in ruins: the constant crashes of falling 
rock were so awful, and occasioned so thick a column of 
black dust, that the inhabitants of the country believed a 
volcano had burst forth ; and, mistaking the clouds of dust 
for smoke, by a stretch of the imagination fancied they saw 
flames issuing out of a crater. The King of Sardinia, in 
order to verify the fact, sent an eminent naturalist, who 
visited the spot before the rocks had ceased falling, and drew 
up a scientific account of the accident and its causes. 

The picturesque views on each side of the road, where 
verdant woods have grown among the debris of the fallen 
mountains, form a great contrast to the colossal masses of 
rock in the background. 

A short way farther is the Nant Cliarbon, or Nant Noir, a 
torrent which often occasions great ravages, and at times cuts 
off* the communication with Chamonix. The series of moun¬ 
tains which border the road on the left consist of an extremely 
decomposed kind of slaty earth. Large hollows and gullies 
exist near the summits, where quantities of water accumu- 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


175 


late during the sudden Alpine storms, which rage with fury 
on these heights. When the basins are filled, and their 
sides can no longer support the weight and force of the 
water, every obstacle is broken through, and a raging ava¬ 
lanche of mixed liquid, mud, water, and immense stones, 
rushes clown the ravines of the mountain sides, uprooting 
trees, burying large spaces of cultivated land, and sweeping 
away every object in its resistless course. These accidents 
often interrupt the passage between St. Martin and Servoz ; 
when the country people see the approach of the eruption, 
which is called the Nant Sauvage, they give warning of its 
presence by loud cries ; and all who can, endeavour to escape 
until it has gone by. 

Below this spot the bed of the Arve is much narrowed in, 
and forms a series of cataracts, which break in foam over 
the masses of fallen rock in the midst of its bed. This place 
is at several hundred feet from the road, and is called the 
Chutes de l’Arve. 

In front is the Montagne de Fer, behind it the Brevent 
and Mont Blanc. On the right, the Mont Joly, the Vaudagne, 
and behind it the Forclaz. On the left, the Rochers du Fiz, 
the points of the mountains of Salles, with the Tete a l’Ane, 
the chain of Anterne, and the Pormenaz. 

After quitting the Nant Noir the road continues through 
a forest of fir-trees, at the extremity of which a gradual 
descent leads through a small plain of corn-fields to the vil¬ 
lage of Servoz, and thence to Bouchet; where the traveller 
may repose a while at the inn of Michel Deschamps and 
visit the cabinet of natural history, in which may be seen a 
stuffed specimen of the bouquetin. 

From this place a road leads to Sixt over the Col d’An- 
terne. It is perfectly practicable for pedestrians, and with 
a trifling expense might be improved so as to allow of passing 
on horseback. The distance is a nine-hours’ walk, and it 
oflers no danger or difficulty. 

The mountains of Servoz are extremely rich in mineral 
productions. Large copper and lead works existed here at 
the period of the first French Revolution, but were abandoned 
from political causes on the entry of the allies in 1814. 
Their ruins are at five-minutes’ distance from the village, by 
the side of the road, after passing the first bridge towards 
Chamonix. Large beds of anthracite coal exist in the im- 


176 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


mediate vicinity, as well as veins of some extremely rich and 
curious copper and lead ores, of which fine specimens can 
be obtained at the mineralogist’s shop. There is a bed of 
auriferous pyrites and a slate-quarry near the village. The 
copper ore of Pont Pellicier, and the crystallised lead of the 
galleries at the Sourde in the mountain of Pormenaz, are 
worthy attention. Near the old chateau is an open lead 
mine, worked before the use of powder was known; and at 
the same place are found, on the schistous rock, many vege¬ 
table impressions of the fern. 

When in activity these works were very extensive and 
profitable, their abandonment arose from circumstances en¬ 
tirely foreign to the merits of the undertaking. A bed of 
alum exists near the Arve; and many lead ores, especially 
that of Le Lac, which is found in a vein of quartz, contain 
silver. In point of water-power, quantity of combustible, 
and variety of mineral productions, this spot is very remark¬ 
able, and worthy the attention of the geologist or mineral 
surveyor. One Gilliet, who lives near the inn, can give much 
information on this subject, and show the mines. 

The distance to Chamonix is about three hours. On 
quitting the villages of Servoz we pass a small wooden bridge 
thrown over the Dioza, near the monument erected to the 
memory of Mr. Esclier, a native of Denmark* who lost his 
life in 1801, in a crevice of the glaciers of Mont Buet, through 
neglect of the advice of his guides. The road passes by the 
ruins of the old copper works, along a small plain between 
the river Dioza and a range of schistous rocks. On an emi¬ 
nence to the right are the remains of the castle of St. 
Michael, which commanded a small lake formerly existing 
at its foot, and near which are several open workings in a 
lead mine, attributed to the Romans, or rather the Moors, 
who possessed this country for some years. This building 
was the residence of a chatelain, or governor of the district, 
under the chapter of monks of Chamonix. At the southern 
extremity of the plain we pass the Arve, on a wooden bridge 
called Pont Pellicier, and begin the steep ascent of the Mon- 
tets. The road traverses a forest of fir-trees, where the 
botanist begins to enjoy the sight of some really Alpine 
flowers. The Arve, closely shut in by the primitive rocks of 
the base of the Mountain de Fer, follows its rapid course at 
the bottom of the ravine below, while we observe the foam 


GENEVA TO CHAMONIX. 


177 


of its waters curling up among tlie summits of the fir-trees. 
The silver hark of the beech forms an agreeable contrast to 
the dark green pine, and on the face of the black rocks in¬ 
termixed with them we observe the frequent efflorescence of 
red, yellow, and verdigris, indicative of metallic deposits. 

On leaving this narrow and savage pass we enter the 
valley of Chamonix, through a succession of corn and small 
pasture-fields. The road takes a north-easterly direction 
under the base of Mont Blanc, and in the distance we see 
the glaciers, which descend into the very plain. The most 
remarkable is that of the Bossons, whose icebergs tower far 
above the fir-trees of the valley. Beyond is the immense 
Mer de Glace, or Glacier des Bois, which descends towards 
Chamonix, accompanied by a chain of yellow rocks among 
its obelisks and pyramids of ice. 

The pure air of this elevated valley, so different from the 
close atmosphere of the lower ones, exhilarates the nerves. 
In fine weather the tourist enjoys at the same time a sight 
of Nature in her most picturesque garb, and of the fantastic 
horrors of the Arctic regions. From time to time crashes 
like distant thunder, caused by the fall of rocks or detached 
masses of ice, attract the attention, and give an idea of the 
height and immensity of these solitary districts. 

At about an hour and a quarter’s distance from Servoz we 
cross a ravine formed by the Nant de Nayin. A short way 
beyond is the village des Ouches, after which the torrent of 
the Gria, rising from the glacier of the same name, forms a 
second ravine. Half an hour farther on is the torrent of 
the glacier du Taconay, and, a few minutes after, we pass a 
wooden bridge over a considerable stream issuing from the 
glacier des Bossons over a bed of white sand, formed from 
the fragments of granite crushed by its passage. 

We repass the Arve on a wooden bridge, and from thence 
to the Priory of Chamonix, as the chief place is generally 
called: the road follows the other side of the river. The 
aspect of this stream becomes far from picturesque, few 
trees, except stunted alders and straggling willows, exist on 
its desolate banks, and its frequent inundations of the 
bottom of the valley cause a melancholy appearance of 
nudity, which in general fatigues the eye. 

From the bridge to Chamonix is about half an-hour’s 
walk. The village is situated at the foot of Mont Brevent, 


178 


CHAMONIX. 


in face of Mont Blanc. It is well built, contains a hand¬ 
some church, in which the altar-piece is well worth seeing, 
and consists chiefly of hotels and cabinets of natural his¬ 
tory. In point of accommodation no capital in Europe can 
afford better. 


CHAMONIX. 

Hotels .— The first on entering Chamonix is the Royal 
Union, lately built by Ferdinand Eisenkraemer, well ap¬ 
pointed, and including a chapel for the rites of the Church 
of England. 

The proprietor speaks English fluently, and has himself 
made a successful ascent of Mont Blane. A powerful spring 
of chalybeate water belongs to this establishment. 

The Hotel de Londres, kept by the Brothers Tairraz, is 
on the right of the preceding. It is an old-established 
house, has a good table d’hote, clean bed-rooms, but no 
separate sitting apartment for ladies. The landlord, Tairraz, 
has also ascended Mont Blanc. 

The Crown hotel is kept by the widow of Florentin 
Tairraz. This comfortable house possesses a belvidere, and is 
conducted under the superintendence of an obliging hostess. 

There are also fair accommodations at the Hotel du 
Mont Blanc, and at several auberges. 

Among the natural-history cabinets the best are those of 
Venance Payot, at the sign of the Three Kingdoms of Na¬ 
ture, of Louis Payot, of Auguste Balmat and Co., and of 
Eugene Savioz, entomologist. Alpine curiosities of all 
kinds, collections of minerals, insects, mountain flower- 
seeds and plants, may be purchased there. Opposite the 
Crown hotel is a plan in relief of Mont Blanc and its en¬ 
virons, made by Marie Carrier, native of Chamonix, an intel¬ 
ligent mineralogist, who, under a plain exterior, possesses a 
degi’ee of perseverance and general information hardly to be 
expected from a native of this retired district. 

It is impossible not to be struck with the beauty of the 
wild plants of these elevated valleys. Above all we remark 
the Rhododendron ferrugineum , whose green branches are 
loaded with clusters of purple flowers. The AuHcula al- 
pestris, which, by its transplantation into our flower-gardens, 
has gained in colours what it loses of its native perfume. 


CHAMONIX. 


179 

The position of the valley of Chamonix is extremely iso¬ 
lated, lofty mountains surround it on every side, and the 
road towards Martigny is only practicable during live or six 
months of the year. The plain is about five leagues in 
length, and traversed by the Arve from beginning to end, 
from the Col de Balme to the Montets. Its north-western 
extremity is bounded by the Mont Lechat, the Prarion, the 
Forclaz, and the Vaudagne. On the north are the Mont 
Brevent and the Aiguilles Rouges ; on the east, the Col de 
Balme ; in front, Mont Blanc, from whose sides five large 
glaciers, the Taconnay, the Bossons, the Glacier des Bois, 
d’Argentiere, and the Tour, descend into the plain. 

So little in former times was known of this place or its 
inhabitants, that the Mont Blanc and its neighbourhood 
were called the “Monts Maudits” “ the Accursed Mountains,” 
and the eternal snows were currently believed to be the 
punishment of heaven for the crimes of its inhabitants. 

The first travellers who ventured on this unexplored 
region were both Englishmen, Messrs. Pocock and Wynd- 
ham, in 1744. So fully persuaded were they of the dangers 
of the excursion, that they set out armed cap-a-pie, accom¬ 
panied by a formidable retinue ; and, without daring to enter 
any house, pitched their tents in the valley, where they kept 
fires lighted and sentinels posted every night. 

On the first visit of De Saussure in 1760, many peasants 
recollected these travellers and their numerous precautions. 
During the next twenty-five years few persons undertook 
the excursion. The rare arrivals were chiefly English, and 
lodged at the parsonage in the absence of inns. Since then 
the influx of strangers and money has much changed the 
aspect of things and the manners of the inhabitants. 

The Priory is the chief place of the valley; Argentine, 
Yalorsine, and les Ouches, are small adjacent parishes. 
There are numerous other hamlets and villages attached to 
them, and the population of the whole district comprises 
about 2500 persons. 

As no fewer than from 7000 to 8000 visitors arrive an¬ 
nually, and make a more or less prolonged stay, the inhabit¬ 
ants are all directly or indirectly benefited by the outlay. 
The consequence is, that some families possess a degree of 
rustic affluence, and nearly all have some small property, 
sufficient for the necessaries of life. The language of the 


180 


CHAMONIX. 


country is French, but amongst themselves they speak a 
patois , the foundation of which is the old Gallic with many 
terminations Italianised, and some Celtic words, amongst 
which it is surprising to observe terms purely English. 

The character of the Chamoniard is lively and intelli¬ 
gent, with a keen perception of the ridiculous ; the most im¬ 
plicit reliance may be placed on his honesty. These people 
have a perfect confidence in each other’s integrity, which 
speaks well for the general character. In the spiing of 
18-17, an avalanche descending from below the Aiguilles 
Rouges destroyed a small hamlet on the banks of the Arve, 
at twenty minutes’ distance from Chamonix, by the side 
of the road to Argentiere. Several persons were buried in 
the ruins, and the survivors reduced to great Avant. A box 
was placed near the spot to receive the alms of passers-by, 
and entrusted to the uncontrolled care of one Michel 
Simond, consisting of a large sum in uncounted gold, silver, 
and copper coins of various countries. This he kept in a 
bag, and every day added to it the contents of the box, 
which no one Avould ever have thought of verifying; so 
assured were the other sufierers of his honesty, and so 
common is this virtue among them. 

Nearly all the men are employed in summer as guides, 
so that the work in the fields falls mostly on the women. 
Those scourges of the Alps, the goitre and cretinism, do not 
exist in this valley as in the lower ones of Bonneville, Ma- 
rigny, Cluses, and Sallanches. In the environs of the latter 
place we see many specimens of the unhappy cretin, dis¬ 
figured, and stunted in form, often deaf or dumb, and pos¬ 
sessing far less intelligence than an animal. When it was 
entirely consumed by fire on Easter Sunday in 1840, and 
above a hundred persons perished, it was observed that not one 
of these unfortunate beings was among the number. As soon 
as the flames broke out, on a sign communicated to each 
other they all instinctively ran off in a body to the heights 
above Passy. This complaint, as well as the goitre, is 
caused by swampy damp situations in the lower valleys, 
where the atmosphere is heavy and replete with foggy 
emanations, or its circulation prevented by surrounding 
rocks ; in dry plains or elevated open valleys not an in¬ 
stance is seen. 

The inhabitants of Chamonix have a custom of assem- 


CHAMONIX. 


181 


bling in each others’ houses, to pass what they call the 
veillee, during the long winter evenings, in a room heated 
by'an iron stove. The women spin or pick flax, the men 
sing songs, relate stories, or make wooden utensils : on 
breaking up the party to go home they leave this intense 
heat for the snow and piercing cold outside, which naturally 
must be a great trial to the lungs. 

In autumn, when the affluence of visitors has ceased, the 
young men or aspirant guides, conducted by some experi¬ 
enced hand, visit the different mountain passes, and make 
long excursions, so as to be able to take their turns in the 
following season. It is to be regretted that during winter 
the men have little or no occupation, and many of them 
destroy their health, or waste their time, by spending in the 
cafe and auberge what they have earned in the summer with 
so much hardship and peril. 

Besides its mountain pasturages, which furnish much 
cheese and butter, Chamonix possesses extensive larch and 
pine forests. The agricultural products are oats, rye, barley, 
potatoes, a little wheat, flax, and a great deal of excellent 
hemp ; but the chief and most interesting commodity of this 
valley is its honey, which, when carefully prepared, is of 
unequalled whiteness and purity. The flavour is very deli¬ 
cate, and it exhales a perfume, arising from the Alpine 
flowers and manna of the larch fir, which the bees feed on. 
That of the neighbouring valleys is of a very inferior quality. 
It is sold in small wooden cases for convenience of trans¬ 
port, and will be found an excellent remedy for colds and 
attacks of the lungs—a quality proceeding from medicinal 
properties contained in many of the flowers it is made from. 

As the Priory is at a height of 3150 feet above the level 
of the sea, and in the immediate vicinity of the glaciers, the 
winter is very long and severe. The snow begins to fall 
about the 1st of October, and remains till the middle of 
April. In the month of January there are often three or 
four feet in the lower part of the valley, and as much as 
twelve feet at La Tour. During that season nothing but 
sledges can circulate, and, when the surface of the snow is 
well beaten, it is as easy and expeditious a mode of travel¬ 
ling as any other, for the motion is very agreeable and all 
inequalities of surface are levelled. 

As soon as the sun begins to have some force it is usual 


1854 


CHAMONIX. 


to sow charcoal dust, sand, or earth over the surface of the 
snow, which disappears by this means a month before its 
usual time, and leaves the ground ready for cultivation. 
This method is very useful, for in some parts of the valley 
the corn has scarcely time to ripen between the general 
thaw and return of the snow. 

The transition from winter to summer is very rapid, 
and the spring hardly distinguishable. During the short 
summer the nights are always cool, and sometimes the hoar 
frost appears even in the month of June. The consequence 
is that no fruit-trees, except wild cherries, plums, and crab- 
apples, prosper at Chamonix. The oak, the chestnut, and 
the walnut-tree cannot resist the climate. The forests are 
of larch, pine, some birch, and beech-trees. The wild straw¬ 
berry, the raspberry, whortle, and cranberry, grow in a wild 
state in great profusion, even on the highest mountains, and 
are of a delicate flavour, unknown in the plains below. 

The autumn is usually of some duration; its calm, clear, 
sunny days, free from heat and storms, render it the most 
delightful season of the year. Towards the middle of Oc¬ 
tober fogs set in and cover the lower part of the valley, while 
the mountains above enjoy uninterrupted warmth and sun¬ 
shine ; but as soon as the veil begins to move and rises up 
into the sky, the first snow falls, so that winter again re¬ 
sumes its dreary reign. 

The organisation of the corps of guides at Chamonix no 
longer exists. In 1848 a great number of young men, who 
had quitted their native country to seek occupation at Paris, 
were thrown upon their own resources by the Devolution, and 
compelled to return home. Having little employment, they 
felt some jealousy of the privilege, by which the exclusive 
right of conducting travellers was reserved to the established 
corps of guides and apprentices. Their complaints, and 
some acts of insubordination, resulted in the dissolution of 
the ancient body, and extended the privilege to any inhabit¬ 
ant who chose to exercise the calling of a guide. 

The rules of their body were admirable, and subjected 
them to a kind of military organisation. They were go¬ 
verned by a syndic, or chief guide, who made every man take 
his turn of service, and decided all questions between them. 
On complaint of inattention, incivility, or extortion, an 
offender was effaced from the list. Their number was 01, 


CHAMONIX. 


383 


with 6 supernumeraries and 97 aspirants, who all served in 
turn. No individual was admitted into the corps unless his 
character was free from reproach, and his strength, activity, 
and knowledge of the mountain passes undoubted. Being 
accustomed to travel in good society, they were, and will 
still he found, intelligent companions, far superior to other 
peasants in point of information; since many of them 
possess a knowledge of botany, mineralogy, and entomology. 
Three of the number, Victor Tairraz, Ambroise Simond, and 
Jean, son of Jean Michel Cacliat, have a tolerable acquaint¬ 
ance with the English language. In long courses of several 
days, their salary was G francs per diem, and 6 francs for 
each mule to go and return ; out of which they had to keep 
themselves. The price of each excursion about the valley 
was fixed, except for those of the Mont Blanc, the Col du 
Geant, and the Mont Buet. If a traveller, from motives of 
preference, took any guide out of his turn, the salary was 9 
francs per day, .the 3 extra being for the funds of the corpo¬ 
ration. Provision was made, by retaining a part of each 
man’s daily pay, for the sick, infirm, and superannuated, as 
in our benefit societies. 

The following is an alphabetical list of the best guides: 
nearly all have been on the Mont Blanc, but those whose 
names are printed in Italics are recommended as the fittest 
to conduct an ascent. Several of the number can speak 
English. 

“ Balmat , Auguste ; Balmat, Francois ; Balmat , Gedeon ; 
Balmat, Jean; Balmat, Joachim; Beilin, Jean; Blondaz, 
Prosper, of Servoz ; Bossonay, Alexandre ; Bossonay, Jean; 
Bossonay, Simeon; Cachat, Jean Michel; Cachat, Jean; 
Cacliat, Francois; Carrier, Edouard; Carrier, Pierre, natu¬ 
ralist ; Carrier, Celestin; Eharlet, David; Charlet, Mat- 
tliieu; Claret-Tournier, Jean, naturalist; Coutlet, Joseph 
Marie, mineralogist ; Couttet, Julien ; Couttet, Michel 
Irene'e; Desailloud, Auguste and Joseph, brothers ; Desail- 
loud, Henri; Desailloud, Michel; Devouassoux, Alexandre , 
Auguste , Jean, Michel, and Alphonse, brothers, of the 
Balance inn ; Favret, Michel, chief guide ; Favret, Pierre 
Francois and Louis Venance, brothers ; Frasserand, Au¬ 
guste; Frasserand, Matthieu; Frasserand, Micliel Am¬ 
broise ; Payot, Florentin; Payot, Pierre Marie ; Payot, 
Venance, naturalist; Semblanet, Franfois ; Simond , Am- 


184 


EXCURSIONS FROM CHAMONIX. 


broise; Simond, Matt hie u , of Les Praz; Simond, Joseph; 
Simond, Michel; Tairraz, Alexandre ; Tairraz, Jean and 
Victor, brothers ; Tairraz, Michel Alphonse; Tairraz, Jean 
Michel; Tairraz, Joseph, of Les Praz; Tairraz, Joseph, of 
the Priory; Tairraz, Tobie; Tairraz, Jean, naturalist.” 

EXCURSIONS FROM CHAMONIX. 

The Source of the Aryeiron. — The Arveiron is a 
rapid torrent, which issues from a vault of ice under the ex¬ 
tremity of the Glacier des Bois. The distance is an easy 
hour’s walk from the Priory, and the road is practicable for 
carriages nearly to the spot. It passes up the valley, near 
where the avalanche of 1847 made such ravages, across a 
bridge over the Ar've, through the hamlets of La Praz and 
Les Bois, a succession of cultivated fields, and a fine fir 
forest. 

This remarkable source is one of the finest sights of 
Chamonix ; it proceeds from an immense cavern of ice at 
least one hundred feet high, and wide in proportion. A 
natural arch exists in the front of an immense rampart of 
solid ice, and displays in the interior a variety of colours, 
varying from the purest white to blue and emerald green. 
From within rushes forth an impetuous and foaming torrent, 
rolling in its course immense Hakes of snow and detached 
blocks of ice. Above is the glacier, crowned by its turrets 
and fantastic pyramids, from the midst of which the hardy 
Aiguille de Dru, 11,776 feet high, elevates its peak to the 
clouds. On the borders of this scene the green forests of 
Montanvert and the Bochard accompany the glacier in its 
upward direction, as far as the eye can follow. The spot 
occupied by the traveller, whilst admiring this spectacle, pre¬ 
sents a singularly wild aspect: on the banks of the stream 
there exists not the least verdure; heaps of granitic sand, and 
detached fragments of rock rounded by friction, are strewed on 
every side. The position of the arch often changes : in 1818, 
the glacier extended to the first forest below, which we traverse 
on the road, and its borders were fringed by a piofusion of 
the most beautiful Alpine flowers. The curious may with 
some small difficulty enter into the cavern at low water; but 
it is an unwise venture, for, apart from the danger of encoun¬ 
tering the icy exhalations, while excited by the previous 


THE SOURCE OF THE ARVEIRON. 


185 


walk, it is of very frequent occurrence to see large portions 
of ice detach themselves from the vault with a crash like 
thunder, and a force sufficient to overwhelm and bury any 
imprudent visitor. When this happens, the course of the 
stream is blocked up for a while ; until the waters, accumu¬ 
lated in the bottom of the cavern, have force enough to carry 
away the obstacle before them, to dash the blocks of ice to 
atoms against the rocks in the bed of the river, and with the 
broken pieces flood the place where the traveller stood a few 
minutes before on dryland. It is reported that two English¬ 
men ventured into the interior some years back, and there 
fired off a pistol. The concussion of the air detached a large 
body of ice: the life of one paid for his temerity, and the 
other was seriously hurt. 

The existence of this remarkable cavern arises from the 
following causes. Above the source of the Arveiron the ex¬ 
terior walls of the glacier rise almost perpendicularly. On 
the approach of winter the stream diminishes greatly; what¬ 
ever moisture has been produced during the day by rain, fog, 
the steam of the water, or momentary sunshine, congeals 
during the nights. The ice swells gradually under the in¬ 
fluence of frost, little by little; as the severe cold arrives and 
the glacier advances slowly, the borders of the stream freeze, 
until in winter the vault is entirely blocked up. On the re¬ 
turn of spring the increasing warmth swells the torrent and 
disunites the icicles. The sides of the frozen wall which 
blocks up the vault are sapped by the stream. Its upper 
part or covering has no longer a support; undermined by 
the current from below, and weakened by the rays of the sun 
above, a part of its front becomes disunited from the main 
body, and falls with an awful crash into the stream, thus 
leaving the cavern entirely open. Smaller pieces of ice are 
detached daily, until naturally the vault takes its usual form, 
and supports itself. If the stream were less rapid and 
powerful, or the glacier on descending to the plain diminished 
gradually, the form of the arch would not be so bold nor its 
effect so striking. 

About the middle of June, in 1850, some obstacle occurred 
in the Glacier des Bois and diverted the course of the tor¬ 
rent, which, instead of continuing to issue at the bottom, 
descended down the face of a rock several hundred feet up 
the side of the glacier. For several weeks this caused a 


186 


GLACIER DES BOSSONS. 


superb fall, called the “ Cascade des Beautes,” which proved a 
great attraction to visitors. In the interim the vault of the 
Arveiron closed up, hut at the end of July it appears that the 
obstacle to the former course of the stream had worn away; 
for the cascade suddenly ceased and the torrent reassumed 
its original course, so that in a few days from this time the 
vault will probably become as remarkable as ever. 

It was discovered in 1828, that the sands of the Arveiron 
contained gold, and many persons gained a temporary living 
by washing out the auriferous particles. Since the produce 
has diminished, this pursuit has been abandoned. The de¬ 
posit proceeded from some transient cause; probably the 
movement of the glacier may have worn away a portion of 
granitic rock containing gold, or laid bare some bed of auri¬ 
ferous pyrites under its long windings from the summit of 
Mont Blanc, and thus the precious metal may have been 
washed down with the sands of the torrent. 

Glacier des Bossons. — This glacier is scarcely an hour 
and a half distant from the Priory. Its access is so easy, 
that those who have not much time at their disposal can 
visit it, instead of going to the Montanvert to see the 
Mer de Glace. After repassing the bridge over the Arve 
on the road to Geneva, a charming path, bordered by 
alder-bushes, commences at the village des Bossons, and 
leads to the eastward, along the side of a brook, which 
issues from the foot of the glacier. To this succeed a 
few corn-fields and a fir-wood, whence a somewhat steep 
ascent conducts us to the border of the glacier. Im¬ 
mense pyramids and obelisk-shaped blocks distinguish the 
commencement of this extraordinary field of ice. Its ex¬ 
terior is of a smooth and brilliant appearance, entirely free 
from earth or gravel, owing to the liquefaction of its 
surface under the rays of the sun. In some places it reflects 
a dazzling white colour; in others, especially where any 
clefts or fissures occur, the interior is of a beautiful blue or 
sea-green. These pinnacles of alabaster, as seen through 
the fir-trees, whose tops they far surpass in height, and 
contrasted with the rural aspect of the corn-fields flourish¬ 
ing at the very foot of the Arctic scene, produce a remark ¬ 
able effect. The snows of the summit of Mont Blanc are 
the source of this glacier, which descends from thence to the 
borders of the Arve, where a milder climate terminates its 


CASCADE DES PELERINS : “ THE PILGRIM’S CASCADE.” 187 

progress. Although much narrower than the Glacier des 
Bois, it presents the same undulating appearance on a minor 
scale. In other respects it differs from the latter ; its white 
and blue colours are more pure and brilliant; while the 
Glacier des Bois and Mer de Glace resemble the congealed 
waves of a sea or large river, the course of the Glacier des 
Bossons may be compared to a frozen torrent or cataract. 

After passing over the immense moraine by which it is 
bordered, a path leads on the ice and traverses it in several 
directions, without presenting the least danger. The gully- 
holes or “ moulins ” into which the brooks, formed by the ice 
water, descend like small cascades, are very remarkable. 
The road back to the Priory may be varied by returning 
over the glacier through a fir-forest; when, after crossing 
the Nant du Praz, a torrential stream whose rapidity and 
violence often cause great devastations, we arrive on the 
meadow of the Cascade des Pelerins. 

Cascade des Pelerins: “the Pilgrim’s Cascade.”— 
This short excursion, though not so much frequented as 
many others, requires but an hour’s walk, and is one of the 
easiest and most agreeable in point of picturesque attrac¬ 
tion. The scenery at Chamonix is in general of a grand 
and impressive character; whereas this, and the road to¬ 
wards it, have a degree of rural beauty, and passing through 
a series of small hamlets, verdant woods, and corn-fields 
in a good state of cultivation, present nature in a more 
simple garb. Two paths lead to the spot; for persons 
on horseback it is preferable to follow the high road down 
the valley for a few hundred yards, and then passing over 
the Arve, by a little wooden bridge ascend in an easterly 
direction to the village of the Pelerins. In front of the 
Boyal Hotel a second and shorter road, near the left bank of 
the Arve, traverses the plain, through a succession of flax- 
fields and gardens attached to the hamlets of Praconduit, 
the Barraz, and Favrans. After passing these we cross a 
stream, which issues from the Grepon, and enter on a grove 
of mixed alder and fir-trees. To the right we have a fine 
view of the Brevent and chain of the Aiguilles Pcouges. Near 
a small opening in the wood is the village of the Pelerins. 
Turning towards the east at the junction of the two roads, 
we enter a forest of stately fir-trees ; their shade and mossy 
carpet under foot accompany us to a meadow, up which a 


188 


THE FLEGERE. 


somewhat steep path leads to a -wooden house in front of the 
cascade. 

The fall is extremely remarkable ; its source is the small 
glacier of the Pelerins. The column of w r ater, after descend¬ 
ing in great volume from a height of about 150 feet into 
a cavity of the rock, rebounds with such force as to form a 
second cascade of about 00 feet. This rushes forth with so 
strong a bound as to describe an arch, between which and 
the rock it is easy to pass at the risk of a slight wetting. 
The rays of the sun glittering through the foam and de¬ 
scending spray give to this arch the pleasing appearance of a 
perpetually moving rainbow of the most brilliant hues. 

The Flegere. — This excursion, which requires about 
two hours and a half, is one of the most frequented at Cha¬ 
monix, and can be made entirely on horseback. The road 
leads up the valley for nearly three-quarters of an hour, 
passing through the village des Praz, and arrives at the foot 
of the mountain, which may be termed an advanced platform 
in front of the peaks of Floriaz and Charlanoz, belonging to 
the chain of the Aiguilles Pmuges. A zigzag path ascends 
along a continual forest of larch and fir, and affords a fine 
view of the opposite glaciers. Nearly half-way up is a small 
meadow, called the Praz de la Yiolaz, on the side of a 
mountain torrent. A chalet has been built by the roadside 
on this charming site, which forms an opening in the forest. 
Thence we follow the path under the shade of the fir-trees, 
which continue almost to the summit of the Flegere. This 
mountain pasturage is covered with perpetual verdure, and 
watered by several copious springs. An iron cross, at an 
elevation of 6540 feet, marks its highest point: a short dis¬ 
tance above it is a small hospice for the reception of tra¬ 
vellers and sale of refreshments, kept by the owner of one of 
the neighbouring chalets. 

This point commands one of the most magnificent views 
of the whole valley. No fewer than fourteen glaciers are ex¬ 
posed before the observer; the five large ones of la Tour, 
Argentiere, des Bois, les Bossons, and Taeonnay, with nine 
smaller, the chief of which are the Gria, the Pelerins, the 
Blaitiere, the Nant Blanc, and the Ognon. 

In front, from the source of the Arveiron to the foot of 
the Tacul, is an uninterrupted view of the Mer de Glace and 
of the rocks which border the banks of its frozen stream. 


THE CHAPEAU. 


180 

Tbe summit of Mont Blanc on the right towers far above the 
neighbouring points. Tbe Aiguille Verte, at an elevation 
of 12,072 feet, is not, as from tbe Montan vert, masked by 
the Aiguille de Dru, but stands forth proudly on the east 
side of the Mer de Glace; having at a short distance be¬ 
hind it the Aiguille Blanche and tbe Aiguille d’Argentine, 
centre of a group of other rocks, whose nomenclature is 
somewhat inexact. The vault which terminates the glacier 
of Argentiere, and whence a branch of the Arve issues, as 
the Arveiron from the Glacier des Bois, is distinctly visible. 
There is also a very clear prospect of the Col de Balme, with 
tbe winding path to its summit, the hospice, and the dif¬ 
ferent streams which unite to form the first rivulet of the 
Arve. 

The Chapeau. — This excursion is at about two hours’ 
distance from the Priory, and is neither difficult nor fa¬ 
tiguing, especially for those who go on horseback. 

The road leads up the valley, crosses tbe Arve near 
the hamlet des Praz, and then, leaving the path towards 
the Arveiron on the right, traverses the plain amidst alter¬ 
nate fields and alder-woods. Leaving the Glacier des Bois 
on the right, we pass through the hamlet of Lavanchier 
before arriving at the foot of the hill called the Tines. The 
road then follows a southerly direction, and ascends gra¬ 
dually, until, after crossing a portion of the moraine, or sand 
and stones deposited by the glacier in 1820, we pass a 
torrent, and arrive at the foot of the hillock called the 
Chapeau. This spot, although extremely easy of access, is 
rarely visited by tourists, unless at seasons when snow 
renders the approach of the Montanvert too difficult. The 
two have some resemblance; the Chapeau conjmands the 
Glacier des Bois, or lower portion of the Mer de Glace, while 
the upper is seen from the Montanvert. Beyond it the pre¬ 
cipices of the Aiguille du Bochard actually meet the glacier, 
and seem to forbid further passage ; nevertheless, there is a 
practicable road along the east bank of the glacier under the 
rock. The goatherds pass often along rude steps cut in 
the soft steatite, and there is nothing to daunt any tolerable 
cragsman. When we begin to command the view of the 
glacier on approaching the Chapeau, we are struck by the 
size of the blocks of stone on the projections of the cliff 
above the ice. The view of the Aiguille de Dru and of the 


190 


COUPEAU—THE BREVENT. 


pinnacles of the Mer de Glace is very majestic. On the 
precipitous side of the Chapeau a cavern offers some shelter, 
with a view not only of the glacier, hut of the valley of 
Chamonix, which it commands, and on an evening the effect 
is extremely beautiful. 

Coupeau. — For the mineralogist the short excursion 
from Chamonix to the anthracite galleries of Coupeau, and 
the copper mines of St. Marie, offers an agreeable two-hours’ 
walk. We follow the road towards the lower end of the valley 
as far as the village des Ouches. A path leads from thence 
down to the Arve, which is crossed on a small wooden 
bridge. Arriving on the other side we ascend the base of 
the Brevent, and after a twenty-minutes’ walk along an 
uneven path, bordered by a few fir-trees, arrive on a plat¬ 
form of stones and schistous matter in front of the prin¬ 
cipal gallery. The anthracite is found between sandstone 
and schist. The size and course of the vein are very irre¬ 
gular ; at times it forms chambers of twenty or thirty feet in 
height and thickness, after which it diminishes suddenly, 
and an almost imperceptible ramification leads to a part 
where it increases to seven or eight feet, or forms a second 
chamber. This coal has no sulphureous smell, and is em¬ 
ployed in stoves, grates, or for general smelting purposes. 

In the neighbourhood are several galleries, driven in the 
copper and lead mines by the company who worked the 
mineral grants of Servoz. 

Having returned to the other side the Arve, we follow its 
left bank for some hundred yards’ distance, until we arrive 
at the ruined smelting and wash-houses of the mines of St. 
Marie. These buildings are in a ruinous state, but enough 
of them remains to indicate their former destination. 

Hard by is the mine of St. Marie. This vein was in full 
working when the company was broken up in 1814. It has 
three branches, one of which is a trisulphate of zinc, copper, 
and antimony; the others, a mixture of lead, copper, and 
silver ore, from three to four feet in thickness. 

In a fir-forest beyond this, on the same side the Arve, 
will be found two or three extensive workings of veins of 
copper, intermixed with quartz and auriferous pyrites. 

Having visited these interesting objects, we reascend to¬ 
wards the road, near the village of the Ouches. 

The Brevent. — From the Priory to the summit of the 


THE BREVENT. 


191 


Brevent, the highest point of the chain of the Aiguilles 
Rouges, is a somewhat difficult excursion of about five hours. 
The road presents no dangerous pass, and the trouble is re¬ 
compensed by one of the grandest views of the neighbour¬ 
hood. For about the first quarter of an hour we pass up the 
valley; thence a horse-road on the left leads through the 
hamlet of the Nants. Ascending in a zigzag direction along 
a ravine covered with fragments of rock, detached by the 
passage of avalanches, we arrive in about two hours at the 
chalets of the Parsaz. To this uneven road succeeds a steep 
ascent, covered with short tufts of herbage of various kinds, 
■which leads to the chalet of Evioz, three-quarters of an hour 
farther. In ten minutes more we arrive at the chalet of 
Plianpraz, situate in the middle of the gentle slope of a 
mountain pasture, which forms a platform at the foot of the 
Brevent. Here it is advisable to make a halt, and admire 
at leisure the fine front view of Mont Blanc, the Dome du 
Goute, the Mer de Glace, and its tributary rivers of ice. On 
the north are the lofty peaks of granite, which continue the 
chain of the Aiguilles Rouges. The elevation of this spot 
is about 6305 feet. The remaining part of the ascent must 
be made on foot, along a path which turns to the left among 
alternate patches of short slippery herbage and detached 
stones, affording an insecure footing, until, having gradually 
surmounted several rocky terraces, we arrive in about an 
hour more at the foot of a perpendicular precipice. Good 
walkers may scale this barrier, by ascending a steep fissure 
or chimney of some fifty feet high, profiting by all the aspe¬ 
rities and inequalities of the rock, which afford a hold to the 
feet or hands. Another and much easier path turns the dif¬ 
ficulty, by following a north-easterly direction round the 
rock, and causes a loss of only a quarter of an hour’s time. 
From thence to the summit is half-an-hour's walk, and the 
remainder of the excursion is far from offering the steepness 
or difficulty of the outset. 

The summit of the Brevent is 7836 feet high, and is 
covered with huge blocks and fragments of red-coloured 
granite, which appear to have been the result of the fall 
of a lofty peak it may have once possessed. It commands 
one of the finest and most majestic views of the whole 
valley. Mont Blanc, with its range of secondary heights on 
each side, and all its glaciers, is developed from the base to 


COL DE FORCLAZ. 


192 

the summit in front of the observer; while the Aiguille du 
Goute and its dome of snow appear to form part of, and be 
confounded with, the mass. In the distance, at the left ex¬ 
tremity of the valley, is the Col de Balrne, which commands 
a view of the present scenes in profile. 

It is well after visiting it to make an excursion to this 
point, where a totally different point of observation of the 
same objects exists. The other side of Mont Brevent com¬ 
mands an entirely distinct view. Below us are a succession 
of small valleys, or mountain pasturages, which extend from 
the Arve to the foot of Mont Buet. The long chain of mu¬ 
tilated l’ocks, which, commencing with the Aiguille de Varens, 
embrace the Ptochers des Fiz, and end with the majestic 
Tete a l’Ane and Points of Salles, give to the general aspect 
an air of desolation and melancholy grandeur. 

The descent may be varied, by following a somewhat 
longer road in a westerly direction near the lake of the 
Brevent, and the hamlet of Chaillod, whence a w r alk of an 
hour and a half down the slope of a fir-forest leads to the 
anthracite galleries and small village of Coupeau ; thence to 
the Ouches on the high road of the valley of Chamonix. 
This variation occupies about an hour and a half more than 
the ascent. 

Col de Forclaz. — This pass is the shorter of the two 
which lead from the valley of Chamonix into that of St. Ger- 
vais or Mont Joye, and may be effected on foot or horseback 
in about six hours. Having descended along the valley, 
about twenty minutes’ distance beyond the village des. 
Ouches, we quit the high road and follow a track, which 
leads through an alder-wood, to the hamlet of Cliavannes. 
The ascent continues in an oblique direction for the next 
half hour, as far as the platform of the chalets of the same 
name. Thence a steep stony path traverses a fine fir-forest, 
until about three-quarters of an hour afterwards the summit 
of the pass is attained. Here the traveller loses sight of the 
valley of Chamonix, and a new horizon lies open to his view. 
To enjoy the entire prospect it is better to ascend towards 
the left, a short distance on the mountain of the Prarion, a 
height of 6270 feet. On the south are Mont Blanc and its 
different peaks ; on the north, the valleys of Servoz and Sal- 
lanches, the orchards of Passy, and the green pasturages of 
Meg£ve. The valley of Mont Joye, from the Mont Joly to 


COL DE VOZA. 


103 


the Col de Bonhomme, is unfolded to the view. The descent 
commences through a fir-forest, to which succeeds a steep 
path amidst a variety of cultivated fields and cottages, until 
we arrive at the orchards and woods which surround the 
charming village of St. Gervais. 

Col de Yoza. — This road, like the preceding one, con¬ 
nects the two valleys of Chamonix and St. Gervais. Though 
somewhat the longer of the two, as it requires about seven 
hours, it is equally easy of access, and superior in point of 
scenery. After leaving the rill age des Ouches, an ascend¬ 
ing path conducts the traveller in about an hour to the 
chalets of Lavouet; thence to the chalets of Belpas is about 
as much farther. Near the summit of the mountain the 
road turns towards the left, in the direction of the Mont 
Lechat. Three quarters of an hour after leaving the last- 
named chalets, a gentle ascent over large pasture-grounds 
leads to the rising point near the Col de Yoza, on which the 
pavilion of Bellevue has been constructed for the reception 
of visitors, at a height of near 6000 feet. From this isolated 
position is a remarkably fine view of the valley of Chamonix 
from end to end. On our right the five great glaciers are 
distinctly seen in profile ; the nearest, that of Taconnay, is 
almost under the Mont Lechat, but its ice (owing to a coat¬ 
ing of earth and fragments of broken rock) has not that 
purity of colour which distinguishes the pyramids of the 
Bossons. The peak and Dome de Goute, with the Aiguille 
de Midi, produce a striking effect through the medium of the 
transparent atmosphere. The bare and jagged ledges of a 
chain of rocks, called the Pierre Ronde, surround the small 
glacier of the Griaz, and separate the Mont Lechat from the 
Aiguille de Goute. On our left ai’e the Aiguilles Rouges, 
and in front the Col de Balme. Turning towards the west, 
on the other side the mountain, we observe the vast glacier 
of Bionassay, which descends from its source under the 
Aiguille of that name into the small valley of the Vorassez. 
Beyond this is the Aiguille du Miage, remarkable for its re¬ 
semblance to the summit of Mont Blanc ; and in the same 
direction are the Peaks of Trelatete and the Rousselette, 
which bound the valley on the side next the Col de Bon¬ 
homme. The Mont Joly limits the opposite view, and on 
the right the Prarion intercepts a sight of the valleys of 
Servoz and Sallanches. 


o 


3 94 


TETE NOIRE. 


On quitting this scene we return to the Col de Yoza, and 
follow a winding path in a westerly direction along stunted 
pasturages, succeeded by small patches of oats and barley, 
which surround the hamlet of Bionassay, a distance of nearly 
an hour from the summit. To the left of this road is the 
lower extremity of the glacier. From thence another hour’s 
abrupt descent along a kind of stepping-path leads, through 
a fir-forest, to the village of Bionnay. Between the openings 
of the trees is a constant view of Mont Joly and the numer¬ 
ous picturesque villages with which its base is dotted over. 
St. Nicolas de Yeroce with its church occupies a very con¬ 
spicuous position on an elevated platform in front, and forms 
a charming landscape surrounded by its varied woods and 
corn-fields. From Bionnay to the village of St. Gervais is a 
short hour’s walk along a tolerably smooth road, through the 
hamlets of the Praz and the Vernier. 

Tete Noire. — The passage of the Tete Noire is easy. It 
comprehends the excursions to the Trelechant and Cascade 
of Barberine, and is therefore preferred by many persons, 
as the most interesting path to Martigny. The whole dis¬ 
tance is about nine hours and a half, of which five hours and 
a half are occupied in reaching the Tete Noire. The road 
is perfectly practicable on foot or horseback. 

On leaving the Priory we follow the upper part of the 
valley along the road to the Arveiron and Chapeau, until, 
after an hour’s walk, the small picturesque chapel of the 
Tines becomes visible. Here the aspect changes entirely, 
the road begins to ascend through a narrow gorge, shut in 
on each side by rocks, among a forest of larch and fir, which 
take root in the scanty earth amidst fragments of granite. 
On the left and under foot the Arve has worn its way through 
the opposing rocks, and a succession of small picturesque 
cataracts break the smoothness of its surface, falling in foam 
wherever any large immoveable piece of rock interrupts its 
progress. After about half an hour the valley becomes 
larger, and occasionally pasturages refresh the view : among 
them we observe a small hamlet called the Tsles. 

Near this we repass the Arve at the village of Argen- 
tiere, where a stream from the foot of the glacier takes its 
source in a cavern of ice, resembling, on a somewhat minor 
scale, the source of the Arveiron. 

The road now turns to the left, under the foot of the 


TeTE noire. 


195 


Aiguilles Rouges, where it forms two branches. Following 
a north-westerly direction we enter, by a steep stony ascent, 
on the wild and lonely gorge called the Montets. The 
summit of this passage beyond the little hamlet of Trele- 
chant is at three quarters of an hour’s distance from Argen¬ 
tine, and presents a remarkably fine -view. From this point 
the mountain torrents take different courses : those on the 
north side descend towards the Rhone and the Valais, those 
on the south towards the Arve and Chamonix. The summit 
of Mont Buet is visible, through an opening formed by a 
little valley on the left. The upper part of this gorge pre¬ 
sents no tree, or mark of cultivation; it is a waste covered 
with blocks of granite precipitated from the heights on the 
right and left, but at its foot the country begins to assume 
a more smiling aspect. We pass along the banks of a torrent, 
bordered on one side by a larch forest, on the other by ver¬ 
dant pasture-lands; while the little wooden houses of the 
inhabitants on the banks are surrounded by corn-fields in 
good cultivation. Valorsine is the chief place of this valley, 
about two hours distant from Argentiere. It contains a 
small indifferent inn, and the outworks formed around the 
church to pi’eserve it from the danger of avalanches prove 
the precarious nature of existence in these narrow valleys. 
The surrounding mountains are much celebrated for their 
cheese. A rich mine of lead and silver has lately been dis¬ 
covered not far from hence, in the Mount Oreb. On the 
left side of the road, at about a quarter of an hour’s distance 
from the village, is the magnificent cascade of the Barbe- 
rine, formed by a stream which descends from beneath the 
Tanneverges. An uneven path leads to the borders of a 
deep basin, into which the torrent descends from a perpen¬ 
dicular height of nearly 800 feet, and shortly after unites its 
waters with those of the Eau Noire. 

On returning to the road, we pass along the banks 
of this torrent, which is traversed three times on small 
wooden bridges. At about two hours’ distance is the Tete 
Noire, a pass formed by the angle where the valleys of Va¬ 
lorsine and Trient meet: its height is nearly 4800 feet. Ten 
minutes before arriving at the auberge we pass through a 
gallery in the rock, of about 60 feet long, called the Roche 
Percee. The path from thence to the village of Trient is 
traced along a schistous rock, and is now perfectly good; it 


19G 


COL DE BALME. 


was formerly called the Maupas, ‘ Mauvais pas,’ from the 
difficulty it offered. A road in a south-easterly direction 
conducts the tourist in about half an hour to this place, 
where we find a fair inn, and the road unites itself to that 
which descends from the Col de Balme to Martigny. 

Col de Balme. — The passage of the Col de Balme is the 
other of the two roads which lead to Martigny, and is some¬ 
times preferred on account of the fine prospect which the view 
embraces, comprising the whole chain Qf Mont Blanc in pro¬ 
file, with the valley of Chamonix, and other objects. It is an 
excursion of about five hours, and at four hours’ distance 
from Martigny. The road is perfectly practicable for eques¬ 
trians, and is the same as that of the Tete Noire up to the 
foot of the Aiguilles Bouges; where one branch takes a 
north-westerly direction towards Valorsine, the other con¬ 
tinues to the Col de Balme. Here the path becomes steep ; 
the ascent is bordered by a ravine on one side, on the other 
by a scanty fringe of trees, which become gradually more 
and more stunted. At length the village of La Tour, 4272 
feet high, becomes visible on the right. This small hamlet 
is situated in a cheerless position at the bottom of a glen, 
surrounded on each side by scanty mountain pasturages, 
over which the stormy blasts sweep with such fury as to 
prevent the growth of trees. Behind it is the glacier, which 
gives a name to the village. Its summit is singularly ele¬ 
vated, and resembles the keep of an ancient castle; the ice 
is free from the presence of earth or stones, and descends 
very low towards the pasturages. During the winter season 
all communication between the few inhabitants of this vil¬ 
lage and the rest of the world is cut off. The depth of the 
snow is frequently as much as twelve feet, but the hardy 
mountaineers, having made all their necessary provisions 
during the summer, see its arrival without fear. The vici¬ 
nity of the hamlet produces a few vegetables; in good sea¬ 
sons a moderate crop of barley or oats, some flax, and 
abundance of potatoes. The mountains in summer afford 
pasturage for the cows and goats. The stock of hay and 
litter is carefully housed under the same roof, whore the 
family with their cattle pass the long winter. After each 
fall of snow, all the inhabitants of the village unite to cut a 
road through it to the neighbouring fountain, which happily 
never freezes, and where they drive the cattle to water twice 


COL DE BALME. 


197 


a-day. The squabbles of the law (a great pest in Savoy) are 
unknown in this remote district. Every dispute is, with per¬ 
fect respect for patriarchal authority, left to the arbitration of 
the elders of the village. When spring approaches, in order 
to accelerate the action of the sun, they sprinkle earth or soot 
over the surface of the snow, and by this means its depar¬ 
ture is hastened at least three weeks ; no unimportant matter 
in a country Avhere the summer is so short, and every day’s 
sunshine so valuable. 

Before arriving at the village we pass the Buisme, a tor¬ 
rent which takes its source in the glacier. After leaving La 
Tour, the chalets of Charamillan are on the right, and the 
road leads over a gradually ascending tract of moorish pas¬ 
ture-land; until, on the pass or neck of the mountain, we 
arrive at the chalet of the Col de Balme, built at a height of 
7086 feet for the reception of travellers. Here tolerable 
lodging and accommodation are to be met with. To enjoy 
the prospect in perfection, the tourist must visit an elevation 
a few minutes’ walk further, on the limits which separate the 
canton of Valais from Savoy, at about 7800 feet above the 
level of the sea. 

From this point all its satellites are in the same line 
with Mont Blanc, and appear to form part of one gigantic 
body, while the immense Dome du Goute is perfectly iso¬ 
lated. The valley of Chamonix appears at an enormous 
depth under their feet, and blocked in completely by the sur¬ 
rounding mountains. The Aiguille Verte and the Aiguille du 
Dru seem almost to touch each other. Part of the valley of 
Valorsine and the Col de Berard attract the attention on the 
other side. It is easy to follow with the eye the usual road 
of ascent over the snow to the summit of MontBuet in front 
of the observer. 

Under foot, on the side of the canton of Valais, is the 
Lake of Catogne ; in the distance, the summit of the Gemmi, 
the Grimsel, and other snow-clad peaks, which separate the 
Valais from the canton of Berne. 

From the Col de Balme to Martigny is scarcely four 
hours’ walk. The descent leads by the chalets of the Her- 
bagbres, along a spiral and precipitous path, through a fir 
forest called the Bois Magnin, to the bottom of a valley, 
in which is the village of Trient. Hence we reascend, leav¬ 
ing the village on the right, and the Glacier du Trient on the 


198 


MONT BUET. 


left, to the pass or Col de Forclaz, at an elevation of 4500 
feet. From this spot a fine view of the valley of the Rhone 
gratifies the eye. A winding-path of about two hours’ descent 
then leads through forests of fir, beech, chestnut, and walnut 
trees, to the town of Martigny; where the traveller will find 
excellent accommodation at the hotels. The return from 
the Col de Balme to Chamonix takes about three hours and 
a half. 

This country is an extremely rich field for the botanist. 

Mont Buet. —The ascent of Mont Buet claims the next 
place after that of Mont Blanc; to which alone, as an iso¬ 
lated mountain, it is inferior. The journey is easy and with¬ 
out danger; one-half of it can be effected on horseback. It 
is most practicable during the months of July, August, and 
September, but should not be attempted when a recent fall 
of snow may have covered the crevices of the ice. 

For this, as fur all other long up-hill excursions, a word 
of advice may not be amiss. Admirable progress is made by 
a slow, easy, measured pace, without intermission. The 
mind ceases to measure the flight of time, and is so agree¬ 
ably distracted by the scenery of surrounding objects, that 
the fatigue of moderate efforts passes unnoticed. Those who 
set out rashly at a fast pace and leave the guides behind 
them at the outset, will stumble before the end, and arrive 
at the summit so exhausted, as to be incapable of deriving 
enjoyment from the object of their exertions. 

As far as the descent of the Montets the traveller fol¬ 
lows the road of the Tete Noire or Valorsine, which is then 
left on the right. As the ascent requires eleven hours from 
the Priory, the better plan is to sleep at Argentiere, where 
are two tolerable auberges, and take provisions for the day. 
Nearly all the guides of Chamonix can be relied on for the 
excursion; their pay is 15 francs. Setting out soon after day¬ 
break we reach the hamlet of the Poya, three quarters of a 
league to the west of the Montets, in two hours. On leaving 
this place the road follows the side of a torrent, called the Eau 
Noire. Its course is in several places interrupted by great 
blocks of fallen granite, and presents one very fine cascade. 
A narrow winding valley is then entered, between the Aigu¬ 
illes Rouges on the south, and the Mont de Loguiaz on the 
north ; it leads to the Col de Berard, and is the usual moun¬ 
tain path from Valorsine to Sixt or Tassy. Half an hour 


MONT BUET. 


109 


above the cascade is a small crazy wooden bridge over the 
Eau Noire; having traversed it we climb a steep ascent 
amidst broken crags, which appear to have been formed by 
the fall of some mountain. Thence, following the side of 
the torrent, is a small oval plain, to which succeeds a larch 
forest on the side of the ravines. On leaving this, to the 
right, is a steep ascent, covered in places with short tufts of 
grass, where it is impracticable to pass on horseback. To 
the right of this is Mount Oreb; to the left, the small glaciers 
cf the Aiguilles Rouges. Farther on is a very steep decli¬ 
vity, often covered in places with snow, which it is prudent 
to traverse on foot; from the upper part of it the observer 
discovers on his right the summit of Mont Buet, apparently 
close at hand, owing to the transparency of the mountain 
air. At the end of a two-hours’ fatiguing walk from the 
Poya is the Pierre de Berard, a large flat rock, under which 
is a rude kind of stable. In the time of De Saussure it was 
employed as a chalet for about twenty cows, which fed on the 
Alpine pasturages, and for the persons employed to take 
charge of them, or make the cheese during the summer 
season. There it is usual to leave the mules, and make the 
rest of the ascent on foot. 

The road continues by a gradual rise between small 
granite rocks, intermixed with patches of grass and tufts of 
Alpine flowei’s ; until, after a continuous ascent of about two 
hours, the base of a rock called the Chanter’s Table offers a 
natural seat. Hence to the summit is a distance of about 
three-hours’ gently rising walk along ledges of friable calca¬ 
reous rock, the intervals of which are filled with snow. It is 
not so difficult as might be imagined to traverse these plains 
of snow, when the surface is just sufficiently soft to receive the 
impression of the foot and afford a firm stepping-place ; but 
when it offers no resistance, or the outer coating is rendered 
slippery by the sharp morning air, the passage becomes 
tedious and wearisome. On the summit of Mont Buet no 
inconvenience is experienced from rarefaction of the atmo¬ 
sphere ; on the contrary, its purity causes a buoyant feeling 
of exhilaration, which, combined with the excitement of the 
view, removes all sense of fatigue. About 300 feet below 
the summit, on a ledge of broken rocks, is a small hut called 
the Chateau Pictet, built of flat stones, where Andrew Ran- 
naud of Sixt and another (the only persons who ever slept' 


200 


THE MEE DE GLACE. 


on this height) passed the night of the 21st of June, 1840, to 
see the sun set and rise. The elevation of the Buet is about 
9600 feet, the snow on the summit about 200 feet thick. 

An immense horizon of the highest mountains in Europe 
here hursts on the view. The first object which strikes the 
eye is Mont Blanc; the whole of its gigantic formation and 
structure is visible in every detail; the tourist, after looking 
down to its base, is struck with awe as he gradually measures 
its astonishing height. On the east are the Aiguille du Midi 
and the other pyramids, which overlook the valley of Cha¬ 
monix, the lofty summit of the Glacier of Argentiere, and the 
point of the Glacier de la Tour. The interstices of these 
elevated regions are filled with magnificent fields of ice, 
which, after taking their source in the sterile solitudes of 
the highest rocks, descend into the valleys and lose them¬ 
selves among forests or pasture fields. On a fine day the 
sight of these immense glaciers, these eternal mountains, 
varied by the effects of light and shade, presents through 
the transparent air the most grand of all possible views. 

On the east of the mountains of Savoy are the Alps of 
the Valais. The valley of the Rhone divided by the broad 
stream, which winds along its verdant borders, reposes the 
eye-sight on a pastoral landscape after the terrible beauty of 
the rocks and ice of Mont Blanc. On the north are the 
Dent du Midi and the Dent d’ Oche. On the west, the azure 
lake with the town of Geneva, the summit of the Mole 
the valley of Cluses, through which the Arve pursues its 
course like a silver thread. All this part of the horizon is 
bounded by the Jura, which appears in the distance like a 
long blue rampart. On the south-west are the heights in 
the environs of Annecy, Chambery, and the Lake of Bourget; 
while afar off we perceive the mountains of Dauphine, and 
even the vicinity of Lyons, until the view is lost in the dis¬ 
tance. 

The Mee de Glace. —The Montanvert is, properly speak¬ 
ing, a mountain pasturage at an elevation of 5724 feet above 
the level of the sea. It is at the foot of the point of Charmoz, 
and precisely above the valley of ice, whose lower extremity 
is called the Glacier des Bois. Of all the excursions in the 
neighbourhood of Chamonix, this is the most frequented, 
because it affords from an elevation a magnificent view of 
the sea of ice and its surrounding mountains. It is easy to 


THE MEK DE GLACE. 


201 


descend from thence on the glacier and view the various 
singular sights which it affords. 

The path which leads from the Priory to the Montan- 
vert is steep in some parts, hut not the least in the world 
difficult. It is perfectly practicable for mules, and the as¬ 
cent is an easy walk or ride of about three hours. On quit¬ 
ting the Priory, the road, after passing the bridge over the 
Arve in front of the Royal Hotel, crosses the valley through 
a succession of small meadows and corn-fields ; thence 
through a forest of mixed birch, larch, and fir-trees. 

A gradual ascent, bordered on each hand by masses of 
rock detached from the mountain sides, leads to the foun¬ 
tain of Claudine of Chamonix, where in the opera of “ Linda” 
she is supposed to have first seen her lover. This is the or¬ 
dinary halt or half way house, and a better position cannot 
be chosen than the shade of these thick branching fir-trees, 
from beneath whose roots the tiny fountain issues, and 
where De Saussure commenced his admirable history of the 
Alps. On the summit of a small meadow, which we reach 
on leaving the wood, is the pavilion of Montanvert, a stone 
building, where travellers meet with every refreshment at 
exorbitant prices. 

During the ascent we have, through the open spaces in 
the forest, an almost uninten-upted view of the valley of 
Chamonix with its different villages, surrounded by trees and 
corn-fields on the banks of the Arve ; but on arriving at Mont¬ 
anvert the scene changes entirely. Instead of a fertile plain 
we find ourselves on the brink of a precipice hanging over a 
scene worthy of the Arctic regions, a large valley of eternal 
ice and snow. It seems as if the waves of the ocean had, 
during a tempest, been seized by the giant hand of Winter, 
and fixed indelibly in the fantastic positions they had assumed. 
Around extends a rampart of colossal rocks, whose crumbling 
summits attest the influence of many thousand seasons, and 
whose sterile grandeur has an imposing effect on the mind. 
This frozen stream descends into the bottom of the valley 
of Chamonix, where it is termed the Glacier des Bois. At 
the upper extremity it forms two branches, the eastern one 
is called the Glacier de Lechaud, the other t&kes a south¬ 
westerly direction, and, uniting itself to the continuation 
of ice which descends from the summit of Mont Blanc, 
takes the name of the Tacul or Geant. The separation 


202 


THE JARDIN. 


is formed by a mountain called the Tacul. The immense 
height of the rocks, by rendering adjacent objects insignifi¬ 
cant, deceives the eye as to the extent of the glacier be¬ 
neath, for it is at least five miles long and a mile wide. 
The total length of the Mer de Glace, including all its sin¬ 
uosities, from the source of the Arveiron to the first ice¬ 
field of Mont Blanc, is about fifty-four miles. 

The most remarkable of the mountains around is the 
Aiguille du Dru, a peak of 11,076 feet high ; behind it is the 
Aiguille Verte, 12,072 feet; on the right, the Aiguille du 
Moine; and on the left, the Aiguille du Bochard. On the 
south of Montanvert is the point of Charmoz, 10,380 feet ; 
in front are the Grandes Jorasses, and the Periades; in the 
distance, on the left, the Petites Jorasses; on the right, the 
Aiguille du Geant, 13,050 feet, is faintly seen. The small 
glacier opposite the hospice is the Nant Blanc, and its 
chief cascade bears the same name. 

Those who wish to descend on the glacier should be 
careful not to do so until the heat and fatigue of the ascent 
have gone by, for several fatal accidents have resulted from 
an exposure of the lungs, when in a heated state of body, to 
the icy vapours which emanate from the crevices of the gla¬ 
cier. After having reposed some time on the meadow, and 
enjoyed the view of the magnificent scenery of the Mer de 
Glace and its surrounding precipices, we follow a path 
which leads through a variety of rhododendrons, mountain- 
ashes, and larch-firs, to the brink of the glacier. At the end 
of the descent is that border of sand, stones, and broken 
rocks, which accompanies the limits of the ice after having 
been crushed and carried along by its perpetual movement. 
Until really on the glacier, it is impossible for any one to 
form an idea of the height of its projecting icebergs or 
waves, and of the width of the valleys intervening between 
each. The trouble of the excursion will be amply recom¬ 
pensed by the admiration of the fantastic points, the deep 
crevices of a dazzling blue in the interior, the wide caverns 
and the little lakes of snow water, surrounded by their trans¬ 
parent walls of ice. 

The Jardin. — The Jardin, though one of the longest 
and most difficult, is at the same time one of the most in¬ 
teresting excursions which can be taken. For this journey 
the guides receive ten francs, as it occupies about a clay and 


THE JARDIN. 


20;3 


a half. It is usual to set off from the Priory in the after¬ 
noon, and sleep at the Pavilion on the Montanvert. The 
reception, of course, is not equal to that which is met with 
at the hotels. We set out at day-break, and follow an un¬ 
even path to the right on the south side of the glacier, and 
below the points of Charmoz. 

After a quarter of an hour’s walk the passage of the 
Ponts present itself—an inclined rock, along the ledge of 
which some precaution is requisite. From a natural cavern, 
near which the path winds, a small fountain distils its limpid 
waters, and refreshes numerous tufts of the Ranunculus gla- 
cialis, which grows on every interstice of the rock and in the 
interior of the cavern. From thence the road enters by a 
south east direction on the glacier, at a point called the 
Angle, traversing the heaps of broken rock and sand by 
which its border is always accompanied. From time to 
time there occur some large crevices in the ice, and the sur¬ 
face is often extremely uneven, especially where the detritus 
of earth, sand, and rock, have preserved some parts of it 
from the action of the sun; there the ice is often from 
twenty to twenty-five feet thicker, or rather higher, than 
where the action of the heat and air have full scope. On 
the road are many of those little brooks of snow-water, 
which hollow themselves out a bed on the glacier, and under 
the sun’s rays glitter as if of liquid opal or emerald. Often 
we see several of these unite their tiny resources, until they 
form little rivers, which precipitate, themselves in form of 
cascades into gulfs of ice called Moulins. At three hours’ 
distance from Montanvert, the glacier is divided into two 
branches; the one on the right comes from Mont Blanc 
and the Col du Geant; on the left, is the Glacier de Lechaud, 
which continues to the foot of the Jorasses. We follow the 
left branch, and arrive at the extremity, where it joins the 
lower part of the Glacier du Talefre. 

The view of the Talefre is majestic in the extreme. 
Being on a very steep inclination, its icebergs, suspended 
and crowding on each other, assume the forms of pyramids 
and turrets, which threaten to overwhelm the solitary passers- 
by. As it is necessary to arrive by the least steep ascent, we 
follow a passage called the Egralets, which forms part of a 
rock on the left side named the Couvercle; its summit is 
the Aiguille du Moine. The Couvercle is a sort of slope, 


204 


THE JAEBIN. 


covered in some places with scanty herbage and wild flowers, 
in others with gigantic blocks of granite detached from the 
peak of which it is the base. To arrive at this point occu¬ 
pies about one hour and a quarter from the Mer de Glace. 
The verdure, and vicinity of several small streams, which 
issue from under the snow', render it an agreeable halt for 
half-an-hour’s repose. It is impossible to depict the awful 
majesty of the desert scene, nor is its beauty of a kind which 
can be compared to any ordinary prospect. Those vast 
fields of ice, surrounded and crowned by the eternal moun¬ 
tains ; the contrast of the dazzling whiteness of the snow, 
with the lurid colours of the craggy rocks ; the purity of the 
air; the silence, interrupted only by the occasional twitter of 
the snow-bunting, the scream of the eagle whirling over¬ 
head, or the shrill whistle of the distant marmot, alone ani¬ 
mate the scene ; except when, with a crash like the peal of 
thunder, some fragment of rock falls from a lofty peak, its 
echo ten thousand times repeated in these solitudes, where 
no verdure, no living being exist. These impressions for a 
moment transport the mind beyond the limits of the earth, 
and we imagine ourselves placed on the borders of some un¬ 
finished and primitive creation. 

Beneath are three glaciers, the Tacul, the Lechaud, and 
the Mer de Glace, besides a number of tributary artei'ies. 
After reposing a while, we enter the glacier of the Talefre, and 
in about an hour arrive at a bank of moraine, which is the 
highest point of the excursion. On the south the view is 
the same as that of the Couvercle, while on the opposite 
side the glacier of the Talefre presents a most singular as¬ 
pect. It rises by gradations to the foot of a semicircular 
barrier, formed by a variety of granitic peaks of all forms 
and shapes, which terminate it on the north. Their inter¬ 
stices are filled with glaciers which come to join the Talefre, 
and are crowned with festoons of snow. The summit of 
this majestic amphitheatre appeal's to touch the sky, whose 
deep dark blue colour, peculiar to these elevated regions, is 
strongly contrasted with the brilliant whiteness of the snow. 
The most singular part of this striking picture is a plain or 
oasis, situated like an island of verdure in the midst of an 
Arctic ocean. Its form is triangular, and contains a space of 
near five acres, which seems to have been respected by the 
frosts and rigorous climate of this desolate region. This is 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


205 


covered in the month of August with a carpet of the most 
verdant turf, and refreshes the eye, fatigued by so long a 
sight of majestic horrors. Here and there arise tufts of the 
choicest Alpine flowers, to which its name is due. That 
nothing may be wanted to complete its resemblance to a 
garden, Nature has surrounded it with an enclosure of gravel 
and fragments of stone. Curious and choice specimens of 
crystal are found close at hand, beneath a group of rocks 
called the Courtes; so that to the mineralogist or botanist 
this excursion affords an interesting field. 

The view from the Jardin, although not quite so exten¬ 
sive as that from the Couvercle, is nevertheless as majestic. 
On the south is the Aiguille de Lechaud, on the west the 
Aiguilles des Blaitieres, the Aiguille clu Midi, and the Mont 
Blanc. On the south-west we see the Grandes Jorasses, and 
in front the Periades. The view is bounded by the Aiguille 
du Moine. The height of this spot is about 8484 feet above 
the level of the sea. From the Montanvert the distance is 
about five hours’ walk; the descent occupies four, and the 
traveller arrives at the Piiory early in the evening. This 
excursion is particularly adapted to put to the test the 
walking powers and nerve of aspirants to the ascent of 
Mont Blanc. 

The Ascent of Mont Blanc. —The ascent of Mont Blanc 
has been made eminently popular by Albert Smith, to whose 
graphic powers thousands are indebted for their knowledge 
on this subject. From his published account of his ascent 
we give the following highly-interesting particulars. The 
earlier attempts made by different persons to climb to the 
summit of this mountain are described by Saussure. He 
himself only succeeded in the ascent after repeated failures. 

The first mountaineers, who had advanced to a great 
height in the chase of the chamois, entered in 1775 into a 
valley of ice closely shut in by high snow-banks, and having 
a narrow passage open at the further extremity. The rare¬ 
faction of the air at this great height, added to the reflexion 
of the sun on the snow, and the absence of circulation of the 
atmosphere in the narrow valley, caused so suffocating a 
heat, that on observing the black colour of the sky (a phe¬ 
nomenon usual at great elevations) through the opening at 
the end of the valley, they were seized by a panic fear, and 


200 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


turned back to Chamonix. They imagined they had seen 
the entrance of some awful gulf, or of the infernal regions. 

On the 8th of June, 1786, two separate parties of guides 
had resolved on exploring these solitudes: one, Jacques 
Balmat, presented himself without invitation, and followed a 
party against their will. The expeditions did not succeed, 
and as a storm of hail and snow had set in, those who com¬ 
posed them set out on their return home. Jacques Balmat 
being on unfriendly terms with the others, kept aloof, and 
finally quitted them to search for crystals under a rock at 
some distance. On attempting to rejoin them he lost their 
trace, and the storm having come on, resolved to spend the 
night alone in the midst of the desert, rather than expose 
himself to the dangers of a solitary descent in the darkness. 
He waited patiently under the rock, in spite of his suffering 
from the cold and hail: at sunrise the weather cleared up, 
and he resolved to devote the day to the exploration of these 
vast and unknown solitudes. His perseverance was re¬ 
warded, for, by dint of research, he arrived alone on the sum¬ 
mit of Mont Blanc by a road which all succeeding travellers 
have followed, and which is certainly the only practicable 
one. Upon his return to Chamonix he made no mention of 
his success, but having heard that the Doctor Paccard was 
about to make an attempt, he communicated the secret, and 
offered to guide him to the summit. In consequence, he and 
Paccard arrived there in August 1786. De Saussure, who 
resided at Geneva, was informed of this on the morrow, and 
set out immediately for the spot, but a succession of bad 
weather during all the autumn prevented his ascent. 

On the 3d of August, 1787, accompanied by eighteen 
guides, he accomplished his wish of arriving on the long- 
desired summit. Owing to the celebrity of the courage of 
this celebrated traveller, his important observations, and the 
fact that the success of the first parties was due to the en¬ 
couragements held out by him, he merits the distinction of 
being considered the first who really subdued the difficulties 
of the undertaking. Thirty-three subsequent successful at¬ 
tempts are on record, more than half of which were carried 
out by Englishmen. That which has excited most attention 
in England is the last, which had for its hero Mr. Albert 
Smith, who reached the summit August 13, 1851, accom- 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


207 


panied by Mr. Sackville West, Mr. C. Gf. Floyd, Mr. F. 
Philips, and Mr. N. Yansittart. Mr. Albert Smith says, in 
his account of the ascent:— 

“ We met at seven o’clock on the morning of Tuesday the 
12th of August, to breakfast: not a cloud was to be seen in 
the sky. Nothing could exceed the bustle of the inn-yard; 
everybody had collected to see the start: the men were di¬ 
viding and portioning the foAvls, and bottles of wine, and 
rugs, and wrappers. 

“ About half-past seven we started ; and as we left the inn, 
and traversed the narrow ill-paved streets of Chamouni to¬ 
wards the bridge, I believe we formed the largest caravan 
that had ever gone off together. Each of us had four 
guides, making twenty in all; and the porters and volun¬ 
teers I may reckon at another score; besides which, there 
was a rabble rout of friends, and relations, and sweethearts, 
and boys, some of whom came a considerable distance with 
us. I had a mule waiting for me at the bridle-road that runs 
through the fields towards the dirty little village of Les 
Pelerins—for I wished to keep myself as fresh as I could for 
the real work. I do not think I gained anything by this, for 
the brute was exceedingly troublesome to manage up the 
rude steep path and amongst the trees. 

“ The first two hours of the ascent presented no remark¬ 
able features, either of difficulty or prospect. We kept on in 
single file, winding backwards and forwards amongst the 
trees, until we came to the last habitation up the mountain, 
which is called the Chalet de la Para; and here I was glad 
to quit my mule, and proceed with the rest on foot. From 
this point the vegetation gradually became more scanty ; and 
at last even the fir-trees no longer grew about us. The hill¬ 
side was bare and arid, covered with the debris of the spring 
avalanches—amongst which tufts of Alpine rhododendron 
were blowing, and some goats were trying very hard to pick 
up a living. Our caravan was now spread about far and 
wide; but at half-past nine we came to an enormous block 
of granite called the Pierre Pointue, and here we reunited 
our forces and rested awhile. Hitherto Ave had been on the 
ridge of one of the mighty buttresses of Mont Blanc, which 
hem in the glaciers between them : we had now to cling 
along its side to gain the ice. This part of the journey re¬ 
quires a strong head : here, and towards the termination of 


208 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


the ascent, dizziness would be fatal. Along the side of the 
mountain, which is all but perpendicular, the goats have 
worn a rude track scarcely a foot broad. On your left your 
shoulder rubs the rock; and on your right there is a fright¬ 
ful precipice, at the bottom of which, hundreds of feet below 
you, is that confusion of ice, granite blocks, stones, and 
dirty roaring water, which forms in its ensemble the boundary 
of a glacier. The view is superb, but you dare not look at 
it. It is only when the loose ground crumbles away beneath 
your right foot, and you nearly slide away over the preci¬ 
pice—you would do so if the guide did not seize you by the 
arm with the sudden grip of a vice—that you give up staring 
about you, and do nothing but carefully watch the footsteps 
of the man who is going on before. The path goes up and 
down—its gradual tendency, however, is to descend; and in 
about twenty minutes we had arrived at the bottom of the 
ravine. Here we had another half-hour’s troublesome 
scramble over loose bowlders, which threw and twisted our 
ankles about in every direction, until at last we gained the 
second station, if it may so be called, of our journey—another 
huge rock, called the Pierre a l’Echelle, under shelter of 
which a ladder is left from one year to the other, and is car¬ 
ried on by the guides, to assist them in passing the crevices 
on the glacier. 

“ We were now four thousand feet above Chamouni, and 
the wonders of the glacier world were breaking upon us. 
The edge of the ice was still half-an-hour’s walk beyond this 
rock, but it appeared close at hand—literally within a stone’s 
throw. So vast is everything that surrounds the traveller— 
there is such an utter absence of any comprehensible stan¬ 
dard of comparison — his actual presence is so insignificant 
—a mere unheeded, all but invisible speck on this mountain 
world—that every idea of proportionate size or distance is 
lost. And this impossibility of calculation is still further 
aided by the bright clear air, seen through which the granite 
outlines miles away are as sharply defined as those of the 
rocks you have quitted but half an hour ago. 

“ The first portion of the journey across the Glacier des 
Bossons is easy enough, provided always that the outer crust 
of the snow lying upon it is tolerably hard. We marched on 
in single file, the guides taking it by turns to lead (as the 
first man had, of course, the heaviest work), amidst cliffs and 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


209 


hillocks, and across sloping fields and uplands, all of dazzling 
whiteness. I here observed, for the first time, the intense 
dark-blue colour which the sky apparently assumes. This 
is only by comparison with the unsubdued glare from the 
snow on all sides—since, on making a kind of lorgnette with 
my two hands, and looking up, as I might have done at a 
picture, there was nothing unusual in the tint. Our veils 
and glasses now proved great comforts, for the sun was 
scorching, and the blinding light from the glaciers actually 
distressing. By degrees our road became less practicably 
easy. We had to make zigzag paths up very steep pitches, 
and go out of our line to circumvent threatening ice-blocks 
or suspected crevices. All this time we had been steadily 
ascending; and at last the glacier was so broken, and the 
crevices so frequent and hugely gaping, that the guides tied 
us and themselves together with cords, leaving a space of 
about eight feet between each two men, and prepared for 
serious work. 

“ The traveller who has only seen the Mer de Glace can 
form no idea of the terrific beauty of the upper part of the 
Glacier des Bossons. He remembers the lower portions of 
the latter, which appears to rise from the very corn-fields 
and orchards of Chamouni, with its towers and ruins of the 
purest ice, like a long fragment of quartz inconceivably mag¬ 
nified ; and a few steps from the edge of Montanvert will 
show him the icy chasms of the Mer. But they have little 
in common with the wild and awful tract we were now pre¬ 
paring to traverse. The Glacier des Bossons, splitting away 
from that of Taceonay, is rent and torn and tossed about by 
convulsions scarcely to be comprehended ; and the alternate 
action of the nightly frost and the afternoon sun on this 
scene of splendid desolation and horror produces the most 
extraordinary effects. Huge bergs rise up of a lovely pale 
sea-green colour, perforated by arches decorated every day 
with fresh icicles many feet in length; and through these 
arches one sees other fantastic masses, some thrown like 
bridges across yawning gulfs, and others planted like old 
castles on jutting rocks commanding valleys and gorges, all 
of ice. There is here no plain surface to walk upon ; your 
only standing room is the top of the barrier that divides two 
crevices ; and as this is broad or narrow, terminating in an 

p 


210 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


other frightful gulf, or continuous with another treacherous 
ice-wall, so can you be slow or rapid. The breadth of the 
crevice varies with each one you arrive at, and these indi¬ 
vidually vary constantly, so that the most experienced guide 
can have no fixed plan of route. The fissure you can leap 
across to-day, becomes by to-morrow a yawning gulf. 

“ At a great many points the snow made bridges, which 
we crossed easily enough. Only one was permitted to go 
over at a time, so that, if it gave way, he might remain 
suspended by the rope attached to the main body. Some¬ 
times we had to make long detours to get to the end of a 
crevice, too wide to cross anyway; at others, we would find 
ourselves all wedged together, not daring to move, on a neck 
of ice that at first I could scarcely have thought adequate to 
have afforded footing to a goat. When we were thus fixed, 
somebody cut notches in the ice, and climbed up or down as 
the case required; then the knapsacks were pulled up or 
lowered; then we followed, and, finally, the rest got up as 
they could. One scramble we had to make was rather 
frightful. The reader must imagine a valley of ice, very 
narrow, but of unknown depth. Along the middle of this 
there ran a cliff, also of ice, very nax-row at the top, and end¬ 
ing suddenly, the surface of which might have been fifteen 
feet lower than the top of this valley on either side, and on 
it we could not stand two abreast. A rough notion of a 
section of this position may be gained from the letter W, 
depressing the centre angle, and imagining that the cliff on 
which we were standing. The feet of our ladders were set 
firm on the neck of the cliff, and then it was allowed to lean 
over the crevice until its other end touched the wall, so to 
speak, of the valley. Its top round was, even then, seven 
or eight feet below where we wanted to get. One of the 
young guides went first with his axe, and conti'ived, by some 
extraordinary succession of gymnastic feats, to get safely to 
the top, although we all trembled for him, and, indeed, for 
ourselves; for, tied as we all were and on such a treacherous 
standing, had he tumbled he would have pulled the next 
after him, and so on, one following the other, until we 
should all have gone hopelesly to pei'dition. Once safe, he 
soon helped his fellows, and, one after the other, we were 
drawn up, holding to the cord for our lives. 


THE ASCENT OE MONT BLANC. 


211 


“ Our porters would go no further; about four o’clock in 
the afternoon we got to the station at which we were to re¬ 
main until midnight. 

“ The Grands Mulets are two or three conical rocks, which 
rise like island peaks from the snow and ice at the head of 
the Glacier des Bossons, and were they loftier, would pro¬ 
bably be termed aiguilles. On the right hand, and in front, 
you can scramble up to them pretty well and gain your 
resting-place, which is about thirty feet from the summit, 
either by climbing the rock from the base, which is very 
steep and fatiguing, or by proceeding farther up along the 
snow, and then returning a little way, when you find your¬ 
self nearly on a level with your shelf—for such it is. A 
familiar example of what I mean is given in a house built on 
a steep hill, where the back-door may be on the third story. 

“ The ascent of this rock was the hardest Work we had yet 
experienced; it was like climbing up an immense number of 
flag-stones of different heights set on their edges. Contrary 
to all my expectation, the heat we here experienced was 
most sultry, and even distressing. Those who have noted 
how long the granite posts and walls of the Italian cities 
retain the heat after the sun has gone down, will understand 
that this rock upon which we were was quite warm wherever 
the rays fell upon it, although in every nook of shade the 
snow still remained unthawed. 

“ There was now great activity in the camp. Some of the 
guides ranged the wine-bottles side by side in the snow r ; 
others unpacked the refreshment knapsacks; others, again, 
made a rude fireplace, and filled a stewpan with snow to 
melt. All this time it w r as so hot, and the sun was so 
bright, that I began to think the guide who told De Saussure 
he should take a parasol up with him did not deserve to 
have been laughed at. 

“ As soon as our wild bivouac assumed a little appearance 
of order, two of the guides were sent up the glacier to go a 
great way ahead, and then return and report upon the state 
of the snow on the plateaux. When they had started, we 
perched ourselves about on the comparatively level spaces 
of the rock, and with knife and fingers began our dinner. 

“ We kept high festival that afternoon on the Grands 
Mulets. One stage of our journey—and that one by no 


212 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


means the easiest—had been achieved without the slightest 
hurt or harm. 

“ It got somewhat chilly as the sun left the Mulets, hut 
never so cold as to he uncomfortable. With my back against 
the rock, and a common railway rug over my feet and legs, I 
needed nothing else. My knapsack was handy at my elbow 
to lean upon, and so I had altogether the finest couch upon 
which a weary traveller ever rested. 

“ The Grands Mulets are chosen for a halting-place, not 
less from their convenient station on the route than from 
their situation out of the way of the avalanches. From the 
western face of the peak on which we were situated we could 
not see Cliamouni, except by climbing up to the top of the 
rock—rather a hazardous thing to do—and peeping over it, 
when the whole extent of the valley could be very well made 
out; the villages looking like atoms of white grit upon the 
chequered ground. Below us, and rising against our posi¬ 
tion, was the mighty field of the glacier—a huge prairie, if I 
many term it so, Of snow and ice, with vast irregular undu¬ 
lations, which gradually merged into an apparently smooth 
unbroken tract, as their distance increased. Towering in 
front of us, several thousand feet higher, and two or three 
miles away, yet still having the strange appearance of proxi¬ 
mity that I have before alluded to, was the huge Dome du 
Goute—the mighty cupola usually mistaken by the valley 
travellers for the summit of Mont Blanc. Up the glacier, 
on my left, was an enormous and ascending valley of ice, 
which might have been a couple of miles across ; and in its 
course were two or three steep banks of snow, hundreds of 
feet in height, giant steps by which the level landing-place 
of the Grand Plateau was to be reached. 

“ The sun at length went down behind the Aiguille du 
Goute, and then, for two hours, a scene of such wild and 
wondrous beauty — of such inconceivable and unearthly 
splendour — burst upon me, that, spell-bound and almost 
trembling with the emotion its magnificence called forth — 
with every sense, and feeling, and thought absorbed by its 
brilliancy, I saw far more than the realisation of the most 
gorgeous visions that opium or hasheesh could evoke, accom¬ 
plished. At first, everything about us — above, around, below 
— the sky, the mountain, and the lower peaks — appeared 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


213 


one uniform creation of burnished gold, so brightly dazzling 
that, now our veils were removed, the eye could scarcely 
bear the splendour. As the twilight gradually crept over 
the lower world, the glow became still more vivid; and pre¬ 
sently, as the blue mists rose in the valleys, the tops of the 
higher mountains looked like islands rising from a filmy 
ocean—an archipelago of gold. By degrees this metallic 
lustre was softened into tints,—first orange, and then bright, 
transparent crimson, along the horizon, rising through the 
different hues, with prismatic regularity, until, immediately 
above us, the sky was a deep, pure blue, merging towards 
the east into glowing violet. The snow took its colour from 
these changes ; and every portion on which the light fell was 
soon tinged with pale carmine, of a shade similar to that 
which snow at times assumes, from some imperfectly ex¬ 
plained cause, at high elevations—such, indeed, as I had 
seen, in early summer, upon the Furka andFaulhorn. These 
beautiful hues grew brighter as the twilight below increased 
in depth ; and it now came marching up the valley of the 
glaciers until it reached our resting-place. Higher and 
higher still, it drove the lovely glory of the sunlight before 
it, until at last the vast Dome du Goute and the summit 
itself stood out, icelike and grim, in the cold evening air, 
although the horizon still gleamed with a belt of rosy light. 

“ It was twenty minutes to twelve when the note of pre¬ 
paration for our second start was sounded. The moon was 
still low—that is to say, the light on the mountain had not 
come farther down than the top of the Aiguille du Goute, so 
that we were in comparative darkness. Three or four lan¬ 
terns were fitted up with candles; and Jean Tairraz had a 
fine affair like a Chinese balloon, or, more truly, the round 
lampions used in French illuminations, only larger; and 
this he tied behind him to light me as I followed. In single 
file Ave left the Grands Mulets—not by the scrambling route 
of our arrival, but by the upper portions of the rocks, where 
we descended at once, in a few feet, to the snow. 

“ The snowy side of Mont Blanc, between the Grands 
Mulets and the Rochers Rouges near the summit, is formed 
by three gigantic steps, if they may so be called, one above 
the other, each of which is many hundred feet high. Be¬ 
tween each is a comparatively level platform of glacier; and 
the topmost of these, which is two or three miles across, is 


214 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


called the Grand Plateau. Up these slopes our road now 
lay ; and for more than two hours we followed one another 
in silence. Very little talking went on, for we knew that we 
should soon need all our breath. 

“ The march from the Mulets to the foot of the Grand 
Plateau was one continuous, steadily-ascending tramp of 
three hours and a half—now and then retracing our foot¬ 
marks with a little grumbling, when it was found, on gaining 
the neck of a ridge of snow, that there was an impracticable 
crevice on the other side; but the general work was not 
much more than that of ascending the Mer de Glace, on 
your route to the Jardin. Whenever we came to a stand¬ 
still, our feet directly got very cold ; and the remedy for this 
was to drive them well into the snow. The guides were 
anxious that we should constantly keep in motion; and, in¬ 
deed, they were never still themselves during these halts. 

“ We had nearly gained the edge of the Grand Plateau 
when our caravan was suddenly brought to a stop by the 
announcement from our leading guide of a huge crevice 
ahead, to which he could not see any termination ; and it 
was far too wide to cross by any means. It appeared that 
the guides had looked forward, all along, to some difficulty 
here — and they were now really anxious ; for Tairraz said, 
that if we could not reach the other side our game was up, 
and we must return. Auguste Devouassoud went ahead and 
called for a lantern. We had now only one left alight: two 
had burnt out, and the other had been lost, shooting away 
like a meteor down the glacier until it disappeared in a gulf. 
The remaining light was handed forward, and we watched 
its coui’se with extreme anxiety, hovering along the edge of 
the abyss—anon disappearing, and then showing again far¬ 
ther off—until at last Auguste shouted out that he had 
found a pass, and that we could proceed again. We toiled 
up a very steep cliff of ice, and then edged the crevice which 
yawned upon our left in a frightful manner,—more terrible 
in its semi-obscurity than it is possible to convey an im¬ 
pression of—until the danger was over, and we all stood 
safely upon the Grand Plateau about half-past three in the 
morning. 

“We had now two or three miles of level walking before 
us; indeed our road, from one end of the plateau to the 
other, was on a slight descent. Before we started we took 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


215 


some wine ; a leathern cup of St. George put a little life and 
warmth into us, for we were chilled with the delay, and it 
was now intensely cold. We also saw the other lanterns 
approaching, and we now formed, as it w r ere, one long cara¬ 
van. Still in single tile we set otf again, and the effect of 
our silent march was now unearthly and solemn, to a degree 
that w r as almost painfully impressive. 

“ Although physically the easiest, this was the most trea¬ 
cherous part of the entire ascent. A flake of snow or a chip 
of ice, whirled by the wind from the summit, and increasing 
as it rolled down the top of the mountain, might at length 
thunder on to our path, and sweep everything before it into 
the crevice. Everybody w r as aware of this; and for three- 
quarters of an hour we kept trudging hurriedly forwai'd, 
scarcely daring to speak, and every now' and then looking 
up wuth mistrust at the calotte, as the summit is termed, 
that rose above us in such cold and deceitful tranquillity. 

“ At last we got under the shelter of the Rocliers Rouges, 
and then we v r ere in comparative safety; since, w r ere an 
avalanche to fall, they would turn its course on to the plateau 
we had just quitted. 

“ It was now fearfully cold; and every now and then a 
sharp north-east wind nearly cut us into pieces, bringing 
with it a storm of spiculse of ice, which were really very 
painful, as they blew against and past our faces and ears : 
so we took to our veils again, which all night long had been 
twisted round our hats. 

“ From the foot of the Rochers Rouges there runs a huge 
and slanting buttress of ice, round which we had to climb 
from the north east to the east. Its surface was at an angle 
of about sixty degrees. Above us it terminated in a mighty 
cliff*, entirely covered with icicles of marvellous length and 
beauty; below, it was impossible to see wffiere it went, for it 
finished suddenly in an edge, which was believed to be the 
border of a great crevice. Along this we now had to go ; 
and the journey was as hazardous a one as a man might 
make along a steeply-pitched roof with snow on it. Jean Car¬ 
rier went first, with his axe, and very cautiously cut every 
step in which we were to place our feet in the ice. It is 
difficult at times to walk along ice on a level; but when that 
ice is tilted up more than halfway towards the perpendicular, 
with a fathomless termination below, and no more foot and 


210 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


hand-hold afforded than can be chipped out, it becomes a 
nervous affair enough. The cords came into requisition 
again; and we went along, leaning very much over to our 
right, and, I must say, paying little attention to our guides, 
who were continually pointing out spots for us to admire — 
the Jardin, Monte liosa, and the Col du Geant—as they 
became visible. It took us nearly half-an-hour to creep 
round this hazardous slope, and then we came once more 
upon a vast undulating field of ice, looking straight down 
the Glacier du Tacul, towards the upper part of the Mer de 
Glace—the reverse of the view the visitor enjoys from the 
Jardin. 

“ The Mur de la Cote is some hundred feet high, and is 
an all-but-perpendicular iceberg. At one point you can 
reach it from the snow, but immediately after you begin to 
ascend it, obliquely, there is nothing below but a chasm in 
the ice more frightful than anything yet passed. Should 
, the foot slip, or the baton give way, there is no chance for 
life — you would glide like lightning from one frozen crag to 
another, and finally be dashed to pieces, hundreds and hun¬ 
dreds of feet below, in the horrible depths of the glacier. 

“ Of course, every footstep had to be cut with the adzes; 
and my blood ran colder still, as I saw the first guides creeping 
like flies upon its smooth glistening surface. The two 
Tairraz were in front of me, with the fore part of the rope, 
and Francis Cachat, I think, behind. I scarcely know what 
our relative positions were, for we had not spoken much 
to one another for the last hour; every word was an exer¬ 
tion, and our attention was solely confined to our own pro¬ 
gress. We kept progressing, very slowly indeed, but still 
going on—and up so steep a path, that I had to wait until 
the guide before me removed his foot, before I could put my 
hand into the notch. I looked down below two or three 
times, but was not at all giddy, although the depth lost itself 
in a blue haze. 

“ For upwards of half an hour we kept on slowly mounting 
this iceberg, until we reached the foot of the last ascent,— 
the calotte , as it is called—the ‘cap’ of Mont Blanc. The 
danger was now over, but not the labour, for this dome of 
ice was difficult to mount. The axe was again in requisi¬ 
tion ; and everybody was so ‘ blown,’ in common parlance, 
that we had to stop every three or four minutes. My young 


THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 


217 


companions kept bravely on, like fine fellows as they were, 
getting ahead even of some of the guides; but I was per¬ 
fectly done up. Honest Tairraz had no sinecure to pull me 
after him, for I was stumbling about as though completely 
intoxicated. I could not keep my eyes open, and planted 
my feet anywhere but in the right place. I know I was 
exceedingly cross. I have even a recollection of having 
scolded my ‘ team,’ because they did not go quicker; and I 
was excessively indignant when one of them dared to call 
my attention to Monte Rosa. At last, one or two went in 
front, and thus somewhat quickened our progress. Gra¬ 
dually our speed increased, until I was scrambling almost on 
my hands and knees; and then, as I found myself on a level, 
it suddenly stopped. I looked round, and saw there was 
nothing higher. The batons were stuck in the snow, and 
the guides were grouped about, some lying down, and others 
standing in little parties. I was on the top of Mont Blanc ! 

“ We had heard the guns firing at Chamouni ever since we 
left the Pelerins; but as we entered the village we were 
greeted with a tremendous round of Alpine artillery from the 
roof of the new Hotel Royal, and the garden and courtyard 
of the Hotel de Londres. The whole population was in the 
streets, and on the bridge ; the ladies at the hotels waving 
their handkerchiefs, and the men cheering ; and a harpist 
and a violin-player now joined the cortege. When we got into 
the court of our hotel, M. Edouard Tairraz had dressed a lit¬ 
tle table with some beautiful bouquets and wax candles, until 
it looked uncommonly like an altar, but for the half-dozen of 
champagne that formed a portion of its ornaments ; and here 
we were invited to drink with him, and be gazed at, and have 
our hands shaken by everybody. One or two enthusiastic 
tourists expected me there and then to tell them all about 
it; but the crowd w r as now so great, and the guns so noisy, 
and the heat and dust so oppressive, coupled with the 
state of excitement in which we all were, that I was not 
sorry to get away and hide in a comfortable warm bath 
which our worthy host had prepared already. This, with 
an entire change of clothes and a quiet comfortable dinner, 
put me all right again ; and at night, when I was standing 
in the balcony of my chamber window, I could hardly 
persuade myself that the whole affair had not been a 
wonderful dream.” 


218 


COL DU GEANT : THE GIANT'S PASS. 


Col du Geant: the Giant’s Pass. — This passage offers 
the shortest road from Chamonix to the valley of Cormayeur 
and Aoste. Next to that of Mont Blanc it is the most diffi¬ 
cult excursions of these mountains. It should not he at¬ 
tempted without three or four guides, who receive 50 francs 
each, and then only by persons who have already proved 
their strength in long walks over the glaciers; for it is a 
great undertaking, hardly repaid by the immense prospect it 
affords. This spot was rendered memorable by De Saus- 
sure’s extraordinary residence and admirable course of obser¬ 
vations in July 1788, and has since been illustrated by Pro¬ 
fessor Forbes, on whose shoulders the mantle of the histo¬ 
rian of the Alps has descended. While the ascent of Mont 
Blanc has always been considered De Saussure’s most bril¬ 
liant source of reputation, his residence on the Col du Geant 
is by true lovers of science recognised as his most useful 
achievement. It was discovered in 1780 by one Jean Michel 
Cachat, thence called the Geant. The distance to the Col is 
about nine hours from the Montanvert, thence to Cormayeur 
about five. 

As the excursion is long and toilsome, there are but two 
ways of effecting it, either by sleeping the night before at 
the Hospice of Montanvert, or at the foot of the Tacul a la 
belle etoile. 

Up to the spot where the Mer de Glace is divided into 
two branches, the glacier is tolerably level and compact 
along the road to the Jardin. From this point we enter the 
part where the great icetlows descending from Mont Blanc 
and the Geant form the right artery. We now attack the 
latter field, which is properly called the Glacier du Tacul, or 
Geant. A dazzling mass of ice, on whose surface we must 
walk for near seven hours, occupies a basin intermixed with 
craggy pinnacles, which here and there connect themselves 
with the rocks on either hand, or stand forth imposingly 
among the snow-white wastes. The crevices become voder, 
as several broad ice-streams uniting from different quarters 
crowd on each other. Their waves are thrust on high, or 
leave deep fissures, which render the passage extremely diffi¬ 
cult. The view in ascending the Glacier du Geant is admi¬ 
rable; above the Tacul the Aiguille Noire on the north, and 
the Aiguilles de Blaitifere and Grepon on the south, are its 
limits. The picturesque mass of the Aiguilles du Moine 


VALLEY OF SAMOENS. 


219 


find Dm, terminating in the enormous elevation of the 
Aiguille Yerte, forms a group, whose majesty can be so well 
appreciated from no other point. The basin of the Glacier 
du Talefre is likewise exposed, and the triangular form of 
the J ardin stands forth in very apparent dimensions. 

The height of the Col above the sea is 11,146 feet; some 
remains of woodAvork belonging to the temporary habitation 
of De Saussure are still to be seen under a rock near the 
summit. Range over range of the Alps here rises before us 
with a perfect definition, up to the extreme limit Avhich the 
actual horizon permits us to see. To the east is the obelisk 
shape of Mont Cervin; close to it, on the left, the Dent 
d’Erin. A little to the right, with every detail delicately 
subdued by the blue of immense distance, is Mont Rosa, the 
many-headed rival of Mont Blanc. Towards the middle is 
the chain of Cogne, containing numerous mountains of 
11,000 or 12,000 feet high. The snowy Avastes of the Ruitot 
are on the right, and behind is the vast mass of Mont 
Iseran. To the west are the mountains which separate 
Savoy from France, and slope down toAvards Grenoble in 
Dauphine. The summit of Mont Blanc appears close at 
hand; the vertical structure of the strata of its enormous 
granitic mass is from no other post so distinctly Adsible, and 
its elevation, though 4600 feet above, loses so much of its 
grandeur from its proximity. The Aiguille du Geant shoAVs 
its tooth-like shape on the opposite side. The Allee Blanche 
Avith its glaciers, lake, and torrents, the Val Ferret, Cor- 
mayeur, and the pastures of St. Didier, are at our feet, and 
appear like emeralds girt round with precipices. 

From hence to Cormayeur is a descent of about five 
hours ; no plants can exist on this elevated site except a 
curious variety of mosses, and the Aretica Helvetica , Avhose 
white and purple flowers grow in the sheltered nooks and 
crevices of the rocks. 

► Valley of Samoens. — Two roads lead towards this 
valley and Sixt, which, though possessing none of the ma¬ 
jestic scenery distinctive of Chamonix, equal it in minor 
picturesque attractions. At about a quarter of an hour's 
distance beyond Nangis, between Geneva and Bonneville, 
Avhere a cross-road descends on the right toAvards the bridge 
of Bellecombe, the branch on the left passes over a toler¬ 
ably level country through the small town of St. Jeoire; a 


220 


• VALLEY OF SAMOENS. 


charming position, at about two hours’ distance from Nangis, 
and surrounded by well-wooded eminences. From thence 
an extremely steep and uneven road, along heights above 
the Giffre, passes through the village of Mieussy at an hour 
and a half's distance, halfway between St. Jeoire and Ta- 
ninges. 

The second of these roads begins at Bonneville, whence 
a public conveyance or courrier, thus termed a non cur- 
rendo, leaves for Samoens at mid-day every Monday, Wed¬ 
nesday, and Friday, arriving at about 6 p m. On quitting 
Bonneville, we follow the right hank of the Axwe by a tedious 
rectilineal causeway of about three miles’ length, leaving on 
the left the heights and vineyards of Ayze under the Mole; 
on the opposite side are the Mont Brezon, and forests of the 
Keposoir. A very remarkable object is the church of Mont 
Sacconex, on the front of a mountain nearly 3000 feet above 
the valley. The road then takes a turn towards the north¬ 
east, near the confluence of the Arve and Giffre, along the 
hanks of the latter of which it passes through the pretty 
village of Marigny, renowned for its vines, its orchards, and, 
unfortunately, for the goitres of its inhabitants. We pass 
the Giffre by a stone bridge, near which is another road 
through Mieussy to Taninge, and traversing the plain 
amidst orchards and corn-fields, in an easterly direction, 
arrive, about three hours after leaving Bonneville, at the 
auberge of Thiez near the foot of the hill of Chatillon. 
Here the traveller, whether pedestrian or equestrian, must 
take breath, for a tedious eminence is before him. Its 
ascent occupies nearly three quarters of an hour, and com¬ 
mands a fine view of the town of Cluses, and the whole valley 
of the Arve as far as Bonneville. Near the road on the 
summit are the village and ruins of the old castle of Cha¬ 
tillon. Ten minutes farther we arrive at the other side, 
which overlooks the valley of Samoens. 

The point of Machilly with the town of Taninge are in 
front; beneath us is the large convent formerly occupied by 
the Jesuits, but now converted into a college for general 
education ; on each side are hills covered by a variety of 
beech and fir-woods, from among which numerous orchards 
and cottages peep out on every side; at the eastern extremity 
are the mountains of Sixt. 

The length of the valley is about 12 miles, its breadth 1, 


VALLEY OF SAMOENS. 


221 


or 1^. The Giffre winds along the bottom, divided into nu¬ 
merous branches by small green islands, and bordered by 
alder and fir-trees. On descending, we pass it over a nar¬ 
row ancient bridge ; a by-road on the right leads through the 
villages of La Riviere and Morillon to Samoens ; in ten 
minutes more we arrive at the small dirty town of Taninges, 
passing the church, a large modern building on the light. 

Here the road from St. Jeoire joins us, and after leaving 
the town we follow an easterly direction along the bottom of 
the valley. The woods and green corn-fields above La 
Riviere and Morillon form an agreeable prospect on the 
other side. An hour before entering Samoens we go through 
a fir forest, where the mountain torrents, especially that of 
the Valentine, frequently occasion great devastations ; on the 
left, above us, is the village of Verchey, remarkable for the 
quantity and excellent produce of its orchards. 

Two hours beyond Taninges we arrive at the pretty little 
market-town of Samoens. After passing the public place, 
and admiring its venerable lime-trees and church, the tra¬ 
veller reaches the hotel of the 'White Cross, kept by Franfois 
Pellet. 

As Samoens is within easy reach of all the excursions at 
Sixt, and the latter place contains very indifferent inns, it is 
as well to establish head-quarters at the former. The sur¬ 
rounding country is of an extremely rural and picturesque 
appearance. Its delightful walks have solitude and very 
pure air to recommend them. Behind the hotel is the fine 
cascade of Nant Bent, whose volume diminishes greatly 
after the end of June ; in front is the point of Mont Crioud, 
with the fantastic rocks of the Chaumettaz and Follit. A 
very easy and practicable horse-road leads from hence over 
the Col du Couz into the canton of Valais, passing by 
Champery (where Theodore Avantliay has fitted up an inn 
for the reception of tourists), along the Val de Lys, towards 
the towns of Monthez, St. Maurice, and the upper extremity 
of Geneva. 

Mineralogy .—At Mieussy, Matringe, and Taninges, as 
well as in the brook called the Clavieux behind the bourg of 
Samoens, are breakings - out of anthracite coal. An iron¬ 
work existed until two centuries back at the spot called the 
Moulins, and was much celebrated for its scythes (‘ fauces’), 
which, in the opinion of many persons, gave the name of 


222 VALLEY OF ST. GERVAIS, OR MONT JOYE. 

Fau$igny to this province. A cavern of 300 feet long, sup¬ 
posed to have been one of the galleries whence the ore was 
extracted, is on the right of the road to the mountain of 
Follit, after passing the Grand Bois under the Chaumettaz. 
At the Sages is a mine of iron. In the mountains above 
Yallon are several kinds of fossil shells. 

Valley of St. Gervais, or Mont Joye _The distance 

from Sallanches to St. Gervais is about a league and a half, 
along a tolerably good road, which follows the left side 
of the Arve, through a very picturesque country. The 
most conspicuous objects on the opposite side are the well- 
cultivated hills of Passy, surmounted by a chain of cal¬ 
careous rocks and the Aiguille de Varens. After passing by 
the village of Domancy we arrive, through a country abound¬ 
ing in orchards, at the Fayet, where we cross the Bonnant, be¬ 
low the cascade of St. Gervais. A turn on the right leads 
through a wood of alder and fir-trees to the entrance of a 
small deep valley, in which is the establishment of the baths. 
A more charming site cannot be imagined: the valley is in 
form of an amphitheatre, surrounded by rocks and foliage ; 
at its extremity is the hotel, and behind it descends the cas¬ 
cade. Thick clusters of forest trees and orcharding slope 
down on every side to the borders of a large flower-garden, 
which, with the buildings, occupies the small plain, and is 
traversed by the limpid stream of the Bonnant. The bath¬ 
ing establishment contains a large hotel, as well as the 
mineral sources, which are of great heat, and much fre¬ 
quented. A zigzag bridge across the stream leads to the 
cascade, where, from a terrace surrounded with palisades in 
face of the fall, the observer can in perfect security see the 
torrent descend from a height of about 350 feet into the 
basin, which it has hollowed out at the foot of the rock. 
From the bottom of this gulf the waters again rush forth in 
an immense volume of mist and spray. The peculiar posi¬ 
tion of this magnificent cascade, at the extremity of a dusky 
valley, renders it one of the most remarkable in the Alps. 
Among the rocks and woods above the hotel are several very 
charming walks; the jasper quarries, and wooden bridge 
over the Arve, called the Pont de Clibvres, are well worthy a 
visit. 

The village of St. Gervais is at the height of several hun¬ 
dred feet, or about half-an-hour’s walk above the Baths. 


VALLEY OF ST. GERVAIS, Oil MONT JOYE. 223 

Persons on horseback, or carriages, must return to the 
bridge at the Fayet, and follow a long steep road, which as¬ 
cends on the right through a small fir forest. In the plain 
above, and before reaching the village, is the Hotel du Mont 
Joly, a very neat, comfortable house, kept by Mr. Rosset, 
where the tourist may pass a few pleasant days in enjoyment 
of the rural beauties of this sequestered position. Besides 
the excursions to Chamonix by the Forclaz and Col de Yoza, 
the little village of the Plagnes above St. Gervais is worthy a 
visit, on account of its fine view of Mont Joly; and at a short 
distance are the curiously - cemented sandstone hillocks, 
called the Pyramides des Fees. 

The valley of St. Gervais, or Mont Joye, winds along the 
base of Mont Blanc. On quitting the hotel, we follow the road 
in a southerly direction through the village, and pass in front 
of the parish church. On the left are a range of heights which 
border the foot of the Vaudagne, and on the right the Mont 
Joly. The road, bordered on each side by green inclosures, 
passes under the shade of overspreading walnut-trees, 
through the hamlets of the Vernier and the Praz. An hour 
after quitting St. Gervais we arrive at the village of Bionnay, 
situate in the bottom of a valley, through which the Bonnant 
continues its course. 

On leaving Bionnay a stone bridge traverses the torrent 
of the glacier of Bionassay, which can be observed through 
the chasm worn by the stream in the mountain side. The 
Bonnant passes along the valley on our right, at the foot of 
the lower range of Mont Joly. The village of St. Nicolas de 
Veroce, with its ancient church on an eminence opposite, pro¬ 
duces a very picturesque effect, as seen among surrounding 
woods and corn-fields. 

An hour and a quarter farther is the large village of 
Contamines, whence a narrow road leads to the extremity of 
the valley. It is impossible not to be struck by the magni¬ 
ficent and primitive scenery of this excursion. Large fir 
forests cover the rocks at the base of Mont Blanc, without 
intercepting a continual view of the glaciers of Bionassay, the 
Miage, and the Frasse, whose torrents descend into the plain. 

Notre Dame de la Gorge is a small hamlet about half an 
hour farther on, at the end of the valley. In the month of 
September, numerous devotees flock here to pray before the 
several small chapels on the right of the road. Miraculous 


224 


VALLEY OF ST. GE11VAIS, OH MONT JOYE. 


cures of goitre and diseases of the neck have been placed to 
the account of the patroness, and have caused this custom of 
pilgrimage. A legend commemorative of the origin of this 
devotion exists in the writing of the great historian, De Sis- 
mondi, on the travellers’ book at tlie Hotel du Mont Joly. 
The appearance of this spot is sublime ; abrupt ravines, and 
precipitous cliffs covered with black forests, terminate the 
narrow valley. A road on the left leads towards the chalets 
of Nant Borant, from thence by the Col du Bonhomme and 
the Allee Blanche to Cormayeur, a distance of about a day 
and a half from St. Gervais. 

From Bionnay a path traverses the plain to the foot of a 
forest, above which is the village of St. Nicolas de Veroce. 
This excursion requires about two hours, and can be made 
on foot or on horseback. The road through the woods is 
very steep, and conducts us to the village church, which is 
situated at full 2000 feet above the plain. The tourist is 
amply compensated for his trouble by the magnificent spec¬ 
tacle which he enjoys. In front is the Mont Blanc, with the 
Aiguille and lofty Dome du Goute. From its flanks descend 
the immense icefields of Bionassay, the Griewa, the Miage, 
the Frasse, and Trelatete. The excursion to this point is 
little frequented, but is as well worthy a visit as anything in 
the valley of Chamonix. 

The summit of Mont Joly is only five hours distant from 
St. Gervais. It is an isolated mountain of easy access, and 
commands a very fine view. Four-fifths of the ascent can be 
made on horseback, and ladies may visit it with perfect con¬ 
fidence and safety. Its elevation is about 8208 feet; the 
peak is surmounted by a cross. This belvidere commands 
an immense panorama of the whole chain of Mont Blanc 
from north to south, the mountains of Dauphine and plains 
ot Savoy, the Jura and Alps of the Yalais, with a great 
variety of other summits. A finer view, attainable with so 
little fatigue, does not exist in these parts. 

This valley is extremely abundant in mineral pro¬ 
ductions, and offers an interesting field to the amateur. 
Near the Pont des Chevres, at the entrance gate, and behind 
the Baths, are outbreaks of iron ore. At St. Nicolas de 
Veroce are three galleries in the mine close by the church. 
At the Griewa, at Contamines, and Notre Dame de la Gorge, 
are workings in mines of rich lead and copper ore, inter- 


VALLEY OF SECT. 


225 


mixed with silver. Near the Baths are outbreaks-of anthra¬ 
cite coal. It is certain, that in former ages these mines 
were extensively worked by the Romans or Moors, for below 
St. Nicolas de Yeroce are large heaps of refuse mine, near 
the entrance of galleries now choked up, but into which a 
miner accidentally penetrated some years back. Again, be¬ 
low this spot is a pit driven in by the side of the Bonnant. 
Some hundred and twenty years back a foundry existed near 
Notre Dame de la Gorge. An old miner, named Martin 
Pintz, lives at St. Nicolas de Yeroce, and can give much in¬ 
formation on these subjects. 

VISIT TO THE VALLEY OF SIXT. 

Mr. W. Rayer, a resident at Sixt, gives the best account of 
this valley. He says : 

Sixt, a parish containing several villages, is distant a 
pleasant summer-day’s drive of about thirty English miles 
from Geneva: there are two public roads, the one passing 
by St. Jeoire, the other by Bonneville; the former is the 
most agreeable, yet the latter is generally selected on 
account of the convenience offered to travellers by the Cha¬ 
monix diligence as far as Bonneville. Here one and two- 
horse carriages may be procured, in order to continue the 
journey to Sixt. The price varies from ten to fifteen francs, 
according to the number of persons. 

If it be found preferable to follow the direction of 
St. Jeoire, a carriage should be procured at Geneva to con¬ 
vey the travellers the whole distance: this would likewise 
be the most desirable plan to adopt in passing through 
Bonneville. The price for a one-horse char is 12 francs 
per day; for a carriage and pair, from 20 to 25 francs: in 
either case a strict bargain should be made with the pro¬ 
prietor of the vehicle, in order to avoid any annoyance or 
unpleasantness, either on the road or on arriving at Sixt. 
The journey is easily performed in ten hours, allowing 
sufficient time on the road to refresh the cattle. As far as 
Bonneville the road is identical with that described in the 
route “ Geneva to Chamonix.” 

On quitting Bonneville, the road lies to the east, along the 
banks of the Arve, nearly as far as Marigny, where the 
river Gifre, which derives the principal body of its waters 

Q 


226 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


from the cascades and springs issuing from the mountains 
of Sixt, makes its junction with the former. The vineyards 
of A'ise, stretching along the low hills at the base of the 
imposing mountain of the Mole, offer a pleasing coup-d 'ceil, 
especially in autumn; it is in this neighbourhood that the 
most celebrated white wine of the duchy is grown. On 
passing the bridge of Marigny the road becomes more en¬ 
gaging, from the numerous plants of fruit and other trees 
sheltering it on either side, and is quite level as far as the 
Nan-Thiez, a village situated at the foot of the hill of Cha- 
tillon. Here is an inn, where horses are let to aid in mount¬ 
ing the ascent; the price is two francs per horse. On 
arriving at the summit, a little on the right, are the ruins of 
an ancient chateau, said to have been one of the residences 
of the ancient Dukes of Savoy, from whom the present royal 
family derives its origin; they are certainly very ancient, 
and delightfully placed in a commanding position. In the 
valley beneath is situated Cluses, the strait, as its name 
imports, by which the Arve, in its descent from Chamonix, 
enters the fertile plains of Cluses and Bonneville. Passing 
through the rather dirty village of Chatillon, the descent on 
the opposite side leads to a very ancient stone bridge thrown 
across the Gifre and into the level road of the plain of 
Taninge, a bourg lying directly in front. On the right is 
discovered, at some little distance from the road to Melan, a 
lai’ge mass of buildings, till very lately one of the most 
flourishing Jesuitical establishments in Europe : it was dis¬ 
solved by a royal and rather abrupt mandate in 1848, on 
account of the political and intriguing tendencies of its 
occupants, and is now converted into a college conducted 
principally by priests. In the time of its late proprietors the 
concern was a real curiosity, and the Fere or principal of the 
institution was one of the most polished and literate men of 
the country. 

Taninge boasts of little worth seeing. The church is the 
most prominent object; indeed, in every town, bourg, and 
village throughout Savoy, this may be said to be the case. 
Its inns are of a very indifferent character : there are several, 
differing little in superiority; the one offering as good a 
reception as any of them is kept by Avril, and styled Aux 
bons Amis : at least, here the civility met with in some 
manner compensates for the rude appearance of the esta- 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


227 


blishment. The town is the capital of a district of a justice 
of peace, and the road which, leaving that of Bonneville 
between Nangy and Contamines, passes through St. Jeoire 
and Meuci, again rejoins it at this point. Families visiting 
Sixt should ascend by Bonneville and return by St. Jeoire; 
the varying the road cannot but be agreeable. 

The road from Taninge to Samoens is nearly level 
throughout, the valley becoming more picturesque as the 
latter bourg is approached. The intermixture of different 
kinds of forest trees renders their foliage very pleasing to 
the observer, especially in spring and autumn. 

Several villages are seen from the road: on the right 
La Kiviere, a parish lying close against Gifre ; subsequently 
Morillon, on the bank nearer Samoens ; on the left, Verchaz, 
quaintly built on a promontory, with isolated farm-houses, 
cottages, and chalets. Nothing further occurs to attract 
attention till we enter Samoens, which is also the chef lieu 
of a judge’s district. The town itself is about of the same 
importance and appearance as Taninge ; its covered market- 
house is the chief feature; the open space adjoining is very 
agreeably overshadowed in summer by several ancient and 
venerable lime-trees—a favourite lounge with the lazy and 
useless employes and other hangers-on of the Govern¬ 
ment. Near the church, and in a line with it, is the Chateau 
Latour, converted at present into a court-house ; the former 
possessors of this building were the most influential persons 
of the neighbourhood. The inns here are somewhat su¬ 
perior to those of Taninge; the first on entering the town 
is the Ville de Lyons, kept by Biord : attention, civility, 
and moderate prices, must ensure to this house a fair share 
of business. There are several others, of which, as I am 
unacquainted, it would be useless to speak. 

From Samoens to Sixt is about an hour’s drive, passing 
through the two villages of Yallon, rich in the ample pro¬ 
vision of wood, with which each house is in a manner for¬ 
tified and supported. Between the two villages should be 
observed the pretty cascade called Nan dent; it descends from 
the mountains on the right, named Yasconans, a low range 
connecting the mountains of Gers with those of Maglan : 
in rainy seasons it presents itself most admirably to the 
beholder from the adjacent plain of Yallon. The scenery 
now becomes much more savage and engaging ; on the right 
are the craggy and precipitous mountains of Gers, clad 


228 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


to their very summits in the sable dress of fir and other 
hardy trees. Songeay is the first hamlet on entering the 
commune of Sixt; the wooden biidge thrown across Gifre 
leads to another, ‘ des Fees;’ a little further on is seen, on 
the opposite bank of the river, a chapel dedicated to Ndtre 
Dame de Grace. It has lately been rebuilt and enlarged: 
the present edifice cannot be compared with the old one 
for taste and proportion. Another small but rather pretty 
plain, Balme, leads to the foot of the Tines; on the left, 
in a commanding position, lies the hamlet Des Monts, 
scarcely discernible from the road. The Tines, execrated 
by coachmen, equestrians, and pedestrians, are not in reality 
so formidable as represented; at all events, there is no 
danger either in ascending or descending towards Sixt, of 
which they are the natural fortress. 

There is an ancient tradition, accredited by numbers of the 
inhabitants of the parish, that on the discovery of the com¬ 
mune by St. Ponce, the plain between the two rivers was a 
lake having no visible egress for its waters, until the holy 
abbot drew his ring across the obstructing mass of rocks, 
when the cliff was immediately rent asunder, and the whole 
sheet of water extending over the present plain (la Gli£re) 
was reduced to the two channels; which, uniting their 
streams a few paces above the mouth of the Tines, fall 
together into this same miraculous canal of the magic monk. 

On arriving at the end of the platform, before descending 
the hill towards Sixt, a few stones thrown down the rent 
produce a fine echo, and at the same time afford some idea 
of the depth of the channel; great care should be taken not 
to risk too near an approach to the sides, as they are ex¬ 
cessively precipitous and deceptive. 

The road now becomes delightful from the opening 
scenery on each side ; on the right, to the south, is seen the 
mountain of Sales, of Anterne, and the towering points of 
Des Plages and Des Marmotets, fixed sentinels to the ex¬ 
tensive range of the Gers district: in front, to the south¬ 
east, are the craggy heights Les Folies, adjoining the huge 
Grenier de Commune; eastward is the Grenairon, followed 
by the Praria and several other heights, connecting Tane- 
verge with the Grenier de Commune ; on the left, to the 
north, the Plans; at the foot of which the road, bordering on 
the river, in a few minutes conducts the traveller to the 
Abbaye de Sixt, the chef lieu of the commune. 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


229 


The Convent at Sixt is capable of receiving from twenty 
to thirty persons ; and though the luxury and elegance of 
the hotels of Geneva may be wanting, still decency, cleanli¬ 
ness, and a good table, may be relied on. Until a recent 
period, there existed no establishment capable of receiving 
visitors; the few that frequented it were compelled to make 
Samoens their head-quarters : at present, the inns of Sa- 
moens are inferior to the accommodation offered by the 
establishment of the convent, and visitors are at once in¬ 
troduced to the various beauties that constitute the charm of 
the retired and wild regions of the valley of Sixt. 

Visitors may board and lodge by the month or week, at 
moderate prices ; the valley abounds in trout, which are of 
excellent quality, and a good stock of poultry is kept on the 
place. 

Persons dreading the fatigue of the mountains may be 
conveyed in chars to Sallanclies and Chamonix. 

The place does not certainly possess a very striking or 
engaging exterior; the proudest feature of it is the vener¬ 
able lime-tree on the Place, commanding the entrance to the 
convent, the chef-d'oeuvre of the Bienheureux St. Ponce. 
The convent, as it is generally termed, but, more properly 
speaking, the abbey, existed as a religious establishment in 
1100; the present building was erected by St. Ponce, in that 
or the following century, and was destined to receive twelve 
canons, governed by an abbot, as the inscriptions on the 
beams of the ancient refectory testify. The community was 
entirely dispersed, and their property confiscated and sold, 
in the French Revolution of 1792; the contents of the 
library, containing valuable books and ancient documents 
of great Avorth, Avere publicly burnt on the Place—a matter 
of extreme regret to the Avorld of letters. The revenue of 
the Society Avas about 3600 francs per month, a large sum 
for the period in which these dignitaries flourished. It 
Avould be difficult to discover any great general benefit con¬ 
ferred on the community by this fraternity; still, some of the 
oldest inhabitants affirm that their abolition Avas a severe 
loss to the neighbourhood. The abbey Avas in some manner 
dependent on the more considerable institution of the Grand 
St. Bernard. St. Ponce is still held in high esteem, and it 
is said that the Avater of the fountain, situated at a little dis¬ 
tance from the convent, and bearing his name, is the 
“ sovereign’st thing on earth ” for almost every complaint. 


230 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


There is also a story here prevalent that his Holiness Avas in 
the habit of visiting this spring daily. On a certain occa¬ 
sion, instead of finding it supplied with its usual liquid, 
wine had replaced the limpid extract of the mountain,—a 
manifest injunction, said he, that Providence intended him 
to relinquish the use of water as a beverage, and adopt the 
liquor thus miraculously offered: the A'illage chroniclers add, 
that his visits to the spring were even now more frequent 
than heretofore. His venerable pate is facetiously carved 
in stone, and forms the base of a small oratoire affixed to 
the Avail ov r er the fountain, promising indulgences ad libitum 
to his devotees. 

A night’s repose in the convent renders the tourist fresh 
and eager to explore the different lions of the valley; the 
principal is that called the Fond de la Comb, the road to 
which lies to the east. On quitting the Abbaye, scarcely 
anything worthy of notice occurs till the village of Nambride 
is approached. Passing through the Curtets, the first 
hamlet on the road, and leaAing tAvo other Aillages, the 
Croc and the Cerney, to the left, another, called les Briarets, 
is descried on the opposite side of the river. Above this 
latter falls the Dart, one of the finest cascades in the valley; 
its fall is calculated to exceed 900 feet perpendicularly. In 
the months of May, June, and July its Avaters form a beau¬ 
tiful and gay relief to the gloomy forest Avith which it is sur¬ 
rounded ; indeed, the whole of the cascades in the valley are 
more inviting during the three months above mentioned than 
at any other period of the year, consequent on the melting of 
the snow on the higher mountains. On the left, to the north, 
a fine stream pours down from Salvadon and the Vaudru, 
which, passing the height termed les Miches, makes several 
very fantastical leaps in its downward progress, but is par¬ 
tially lost to the observer from the density of the beech forest 
and the projecting contours of the surrounding rocks. The 
whole of the mountain passages are safely practicable to- 
Avards the end of June. The rocks which surround the Dart 
are a very favourite resort of the chamois. The hills on the 
Avestern side are named les Moliettes; those to the east, 
Commune: the latter formerly belonged to the comment. 
The fir plantations on their sides contain the large black 
cock, some of Avhich w r eigh more than four pounds ; in fact, 
they are found in greater or less quantity in every fir forest, 
Avhere the Avhortleberry, bilberry, cranberry, and juniper 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


231 


abound, as these shrubs furnish their principal food during 
a great part of the year. 

Half-an-hour’s walk from the wooden bridge of the 
Briaret conducts to the village of Lower Nambricle. Here 
formerly existed a blast furnace, moved by the stream 
Fontany, which intersects the road; its remains are still 
extant. Upper Nambride is distant about a quarter of an 
hour from the former of the same name ; midway between 
the two, ascending the heights to the northward, is one of 
the most superb and pleasing cascades in the whole range of 
the Alps ; to its beauty it also adds an originality unshared 
by any other in the valley. The greater number of the 
other cascades are partly or wholly supplied by snow-water, 
and are more or less attractive as the season and state of 
the weather vary; but the Cascade de la Gouille is furnished 
from a spring, which issues forth from the rock at some 
little distance above its fall into the basin of its own 
sculpture, from which the great body of its waters, reduced 
by their violent action against the bottom into almost a 
mist, collects again and forms the stream, which, passing 
the road near to the Ullage, empties itself into the Gifre. 
This spring is said to derive its supply from the lake of the 
Yozal, a mountain three leagues distant from the cascade; 
the assertion is supported by the fact of a cow’s bell being 
discovered in the basin, identified as having been the one 
attached to an animal accidentally drowned in the above 
lake. The inhabitants of the village recount the incident 
in the firm conviction of its truth. Subterraneous passages 
of the same nature exist in other mountains, especially in 
the vicinity of Maglan and the mountains of Balme. At a 
little distance from the village of Upper Nambride the river 
is crossed by a wooden bridge (Pont d’Eau rouge). The 
road is enclosed on each side for some distance with a wood 
of alder-trees ; on the left is the high point of Sambet, one 
of the choicest spots for chamois in the parish. The river 
in this part is well furnished with trout; though small, they 
are of excellent quality, and afford good sport to the fly- 
fisher: the black gnat is the favourite fly in all seasons 
of the year. 

Near to the bank of the river, midway between the bridge 
and the cross (Croix de Pelis), is a spring of ferruginous 
water; it is said to be very efficacious in certain disorders, 
and has been sent in bottles to Lyons, Marseilles, Geneva, 


232 


VALLEY OE S1XT. 


and many other towns : it se.ems to increase in reputation in 
proportion as its virtues become more known and appre¬ 
ciated. The inhabitants drink of it for every complaint, and 
appear to put great reliance in its medicinal powers. 

Returning to the main road and passing the cross, the 
spot a few paces in advance attests the disaster, of which the 
oratoire on the side of the path records the date. It is sup¬ 
posed by some to have been caused by the separation of a 
huge mass, forming part of the Tete Noire to the south¬ 
west ; others think it to have arisen from a disrupted frag¬ 
ment of Taneverge to the east: to a careful observer it 
would appear that a part of the whole range of mountains 
which form the Fer a Cheval had contributed to this de¬ 
structive overthrow. A whole village, the most populous at 
that period in the commune, consisting of more than three 
hundred souls, was buried beneath the invading mass. Not 
a soul escaped; all were taken. 

It was to relieve the sufferings and difficulties of the 
friends and relatives of those who perished on this fatal oc¬ 
casion that St. Franjois de Sales, the present patron saint 
of Savoy, after inspecting the scene of this extraordinary 
calamity, undertook the journey from Sixt to Chambery on 
foot, in the rigorous winter of 1602, and by a strong and 
eloquent appeal to the senate of that city obtained an 
exemption from all kinds of taxes, during several years, for 
those whose interests were so seriously injured by this 
lamentable visitation of nature. The inequality of the 
ground on this site would of itself attest the veracity of 
the accident, were other proofs wanting to corroborate it. 
The present inhabitants of the surrounding villages are 
capable of furnishing more than sufficient to establish the 
correctness of the story. In a quarter of an hour from the 
wooden bridge we reach an open ground, from whence is 
discovered one of the most magnificent panoramas of savage 
scenery ; on the left, to the east, is the sugar-loaf mountain 
of Taneverge, an unequal mass of craggy and projecting 
rocks, here and there diversified with green spots, favourite 
retreats of the chamois, which, as it were, from their 
fortresses, discover the approach of their enemies, from what 
quarter soever they advance. In front, to the south, is the 
range of Tete Noire, extending from the bulky Grenier de 
Commune to the south-eastern side of Taneverge; in the 
background is the Grenairon, with the mountains of Prarion 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


233 


adjoining it. The road from Sixt to Salvent and Martigny, 
twelve hours distant, passes by the former, and offers to 
those cajiable of supporting mountain fatigue a very pleasant 
and picturesque trip. There is an inn at Salvent, where 
clean beds may be procured, if it should be found convenient 
to divide the journey into two days. 

This demi-lunar range of rocks, or, as it is called in the 
country, the Horse-slioe (Fer a Cheval), is agreeably en¬ 
livened by several charming cascades, which in the months 
of May, June, and July are certainly well worth a visit. 
There are seven which deserve to have their names re¬ 
corded. The first on the right, to the south, in the direction 
of the mountains of Commune, is supplied by the glacier of 
the Grenairon, and bears the name of la Combe de Saute- 
relle; the second, called la Citerne, is somewhat to the 
eastward of the former, but is furnished by the same glacier: 
the beauty of both is regulated in a great degree by the 
heat of the weather, and the same cause which would 
diminish the bulk of those dependent on springs, would 
extend to those descending from the glaciers a much greater 
force and body of water. The third fall is that of the Joiton, 
said to have derived its name from a person who was acci¬ 
dentally drowned in it; but of this there is no certain proof: 
it draws its waters from the glacier Du Prarion, and is con¬ 
siderably eastward of the other two. The fourth is la 
Contrainte; the word would of itself sufficiently indicate its 
nature: it is bounded on each side by a rock, through which 
at some very remote period it seems to have forced its way. 
The fifth, the Grand Nant, different to the others before- 
mentioned, is supplied by a spring of great power, and is 
a very pleasing and attractive object during the greater part 
of the year. From the Abbaye it may be easily distin¬ 
guished, as it makes its varied leaps over the opposing ine¬ 
qualities of the rocky promontories of Taneverge. The sixth 
is the Pierette, which descends from the very highest point 
of Taneverge. The seventh is the Pisette, issuing forth 
from a cleft in the north-western side of the same moun¬ 
tain : both the latter are to the left of the Grand Nant. 

Having reposed a few minutes to survey the different 
beauties of the Fer a Cheval, we again put forward for the 
Fond de la Combe. On the left is the mountain of Sambet; 
on the right, Taneverge, with its dislocated chimney; on its 


234 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


northern flank, a green spot is viewed. From hence com¬ 
mences the passage of Taneverge; to the intrepid it is a 
very delightful track, and much more interesting than that 
of the Tete Noire, in order to reach Salvent and Martigny. 
The source of the Grand Nant lies directly in the path by 
which the mountain is traversed; and in front, south-west¬ 
ward, the whole of the valley, with the mountains of Gers, is 
seen to the greatest advantage. Pursuing the journey, the 
scenery on each side of the road becomes more and more 
wild and striking; the fall of the different minor cascades, 
and the echo from the stream of the river Gifre, as it over¬ 
leaps the huge fragments of rock which impede its course, 
cause a continual and undulating murmur, which, re-echoed 
by the surrounding heights, embarrass the most attentive 
listener in discovering from whence the sound proceeds. 

The mountain of the Bore now r appears on the left, from 
which was extracted the ore that supplied the foundry at the 
Abbaye; the excavations are still to be seen. Visitors to the 
Combe usually ascend the staircase (Pas de Bore) in order 
to obtain a complete view of this part of the vallej': the 
ascent well repays the trouble. On the platform is the usual 
halt for lunch. The Bore is the key to the passage of the 
Sage-roux, distant about an hour from the mountain of the 
Yozal, where the passage from Sixt by the Miches and Sal- 
vadon unites with the former. The whole distance from 
the Bore to the Sage-roux is performed in a little less than 
three hours. The separation of the canton of Valais from 
Savoy is marked by a limit-stone at this point, from whence 
the descent to Chambery and the Val d’lliers is made in a 
little more than two hours, and with comparative ease, in the 
latter part of the summer. The inhabitants of Sixt are con¬ 
stantly in the habit of making the journey, in order to lay in 
their winter’s provision of salt and tobacco. 

Again, from the passage of the Sage-roux the ascent of 
the Bent du Midi is made in three hours (the guides of 
Chambery are compelled to make a circuit and fall in with 
the mountain plain of Entlegenfe bordering on the Sage- 
roux) ; from the Abbaye de Sixt to the Sage-roux is a good 
walk of four hours and a half. The Chalets of Sallanches. 
two hours distant from the summit, offer a retreat for the 
night, and St. Maurice can be reached in about the same 
time in the morning; thus avoiding Chambery, an unne- 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


235 


eessary deviation from the road, to those who are desirous 
of reaching Martigny. The Dent du Midi is said to be a 
little higher than the Buet, but in fact there is so little dif¬ 
ference, that it is almost impossible to decide. 

Regaining the road in the valley, the Combe soon pre¬ 
sents itself, the “ Ultima Thule” of Savoy; if savage and 
uncivilised nature were expelled, all other abodes here cer¬ 
tainly would be its retreat: the very air scents of desolation, 
and the uninterrupted stillness of the spot, save where now 
and then a huge block of ice, or a crumbling piece of rock 
in its downward course, varies for the moment the continual 
calm, would stamp it as Desertion’s own home. 

There are two principal cascades, which in certain seasons 
are very beautiful: the first is, la Cascade de la Scie, the 
original source of the river Gifre: in the months of June 
and July are very frequently seen large pieces of ice de¬ 
tached from the glacier Montruant above, falling into the 
basin beneath with a loud crash. The above glacier is nearly 
two leagues in extent; at its eastern extremity is the moun¬ 
tain Barberine, between which and Taneverge is a sea of ice. 
The Pisse-Vache, which falls into the Rhone between St. 
Maurice and Martigny, is furnished by the glaciers and 
springs of these same mountains; and persons of high cou¬ 
rage and vigorous constitutions may pass this way, and fall 
directly either on St. Maurice or Salvent: as yet the passage 
has seldom been made. The scenery of this wild region is 
quite equal to anything of the same kind at Chamonix, 
though to gain a full view of this almost unfrequented tract 
requires a rather tedious and difficult ascent. 

The other, la Cascade du Prasjean, makes two superb 
bounds ; an abundant spring of water administers a continual 
supply throughout the year: it falls into a basin of its own 
formation, and is about a mile distant from La Scie. The 
mountain Prasjean is the only pasturage allotted to sheep 
in this part of the commune, and this privilege would not be 
extended to them, but that the cows and other cattle are 
incapable of frequenting it; the flesh of the animals fed on 
the perfumed herbage of this rocky district is of very excel¬ 
lent quality, quite equal to Welsh mutton. 

Retracing our steps, beneath the Bore is discovered a 
pleasing fall, la Gouille du Bore; its basin is very capa¬ 
cious, and generally contains trout of good size and quality. 


236 


VALLEY OE SIXT. 


A few courageous persons have converted the basin into a 
bath—a practice not to he recommended, even in the very 
warmest months of summer. 

About three hours distant from the chalets in Salvadon 
is the mountain Vaudru, a very elevated, though perfectly 
accessible one ; ladies even may venture the ascent Avithout 
any risk. It requires a walk of about two hours and a half from 
Sixt to reach the chalets in Salvadon, Avhere, in summer 
and autumn, milk, cream, and butter may be obtained for a 
trifle. Except the Buet, there is no point in Savoy north- 
Avard of Mont Blanc which offers such a delightful and 
extensive prospect. The Lake of Geneva; the canton of the 
Valais, AAuth all its mountains, tOAvns, and streams ; the whole 
country extending round Annecy, a great part of the Dau- 
phine, the different heights in the Bernese country, and the 
canton of Yaud, with many other places, may be distinctly 
seen. The latter part of July and the beginning of August 
are the most propitious seasons for visiting it; on a fine day 
the prospect is so charming, that it is with extreme reluct¬ 
ance the visitor is persuaded to quit it. 

This mountain, with the adjacent ones, viz. Boston, Beda 
Vozal, Chassa, &c., are rich in fossil remains; on most 
of them are found crystals, curious stones, and other eccen¬ 
tricities of nature. One of the patriarchs of the village 
Cerney, states that in his youth he discovered, not far from 
the chalets of Salvadon, a perfect human form petrified: he 
judged it to be that of a child seA^en or eight years old; every 
feature and form of limb Avere perfectly discernible—even 
the strings Avhich attached the sandals, as well as the san¬ 
dals themselves, were exactly portrayed. Ignorant of its 
value, he broke it in pieces to see what it contained, and 
left the fragments to the mercy of the avalanches and 
rolling pieces of rock, Avhich had the following season, on 
his returning to the same spot, entirely caused to disappear 
every trace of this singular phenomenon. The old man’s 
story may be readily credited, as not long since was disco¬ 
vered, in the direction of the Vaudru, the form of a human 
hand, with the nails, joints, and even the veins easily dis¬ 
tinguish aide. 

The Avbole commune, and more especially its northern 
and southern parts, Avould afford a pleasing ramble to the 
mineralogist, geologist, and botanist. 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


237 


The western and south-western parts of the connnune 
are bounded by the mountains of Gers, those of Arraches, 
and the Yasconans. Passing across the plain (la GIRre), 
the first small hamlet on the left is d’Haute Rive, the next 
le Fay; leaving both on the left, and crossing the wooden 
bridge thrown over the little Gifre, the ascent is immediately 
begun. In front is la Gieta, forming a very fine relief to the 
beech-forest beneath ; on the left, to the south, is the Pointe 
de Sales, the very « arm and burgonet’ of the valley. The two 
pics which flank the Gers mountains are called, the one nearest, 
the Pointe des Plages, the other the Pointe des Marmotets ; on 
their summits the moorcock (Tctrao tctrax ) is found, and the 
chamois often selects them as a place of refuge and repose. 

The straggling village which lies in the road is called 
Englene; a very pleasant spot in summer, and well protected 
from the overpowering heat of the sun by numerous trees, 
walnut and others. Before winding the sierra, the direct 
road into Gers, a few minutes’ walk from the village across 
the sloping fields leads to one of the finest waterfalls 
(Saut-Bodet) in this part of the valley. The stream Pieure, 
descending from the rocks of the adjoining mountains, 
makes here an astounding leap ; in the basin below are 
caught trout of the best quality in the whole commune. 
Recovering the zigzag path of the sierra, and following its 
varied sinuosities, we meet with a small wooden bridge con¬ 
ducting across the Pieure; the path now lies in the direction 
of the forest of the Envers, which overhang the stream in 
its descent from Gers. In half-an-hour the chalets of Sal- 
lanches are reached. There is also a path on the right 
side of the stream, diverging from the direct road at a little 
distance before reaching the bridge or the saw-mills; in 
summer it is generally chosen by pedestrians as the more 
agreeable passage. The proximity of the stream, with its 
eccentric leaps and gurgling murmurs, renders this one of 
the most pleasing rambles in the commune. Following its 
course with very little deviation, the chalets above mentioned 
are soon reached; a little above them is a trifling cascade 
termed the Saut du Petit Tinet, scarcely worth remark, 
except after a very heavy fall of rain ; on the right, to the 
north-west, is the Gieta, the summit of which affords a fine 
view of the valley of Taninge, and of the road by which the 
traveller arrives at Sixt. 


238 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


A rather rugged road through a fir-forest to the south¬ 
west is soon agreeably changed for the soft turf of the plain 
of Gers, enclosed on each side by mountains and wooded 
heights. The lake is soon visible, and although not a grand 
sheet of water, is still an interesting object, and extremely 
serviceable to the mountaineers for their cattle and sheep in 
summer and autumn. 

Following the course of the valley and ascending the 
heights at its termination, an elevated spot is gained from 
which the view is very extensive : the points Griffon and 
Pelousa to the south-west, the mountain of Sales to the 
south, with the Buet in the background to the south-east, 
stand out in bold relief. 

Reverting to the lake in Gers, not far from its southern 
bank, is a path easy to trace, which conducts to the Chalets 
des Foges: this is the direction generally taken in order to 
reach the points Griffon and Pelousa. There is no danger 
attending the excursion over even the most exalted tracts of 
this part of the commune. Pelousa is about an hour’s dis¬ 
tance from the Griffon, the latter about an hour and a half’s 
stroll from the lake in Gers. 

From the Foges a towering eminence, called by some the 
Pointe du Perfiat,by others theTete des Fenlies,is attained; 
the view from which is delightful; from no other direction 
can the Buet be seen to greater advantage: its platform, 
glaciers, and, in fact, every striking feature of its peculiar 
form, are clearly visible. To the north are seen the moun¬ 
tains of Valais, overtopping the low mountains wdiich sepa¬ 
rate it from Savoy ; the rocky precipices of the mountain of 
Sales lie directly in front, and gratify the observer by their 
very quaint and gigantic proportions. In this latter moun¬ 
tain is made, perhaps, the finest butter in the duchy, it is 
certainly very superior to any other for some leagues around ; 
during the season the cows, goats, and sheep, are on the 
mountains, the monotony and stillness of the district are 
very much enlivened by their presence; the rustic chants 
and wild airs of the milk-maids, w ith the continual sound of 
the bells attached to the cattle, have a very agreeable effect: 
the cow r s, too, are extremely useful, as the rambler may al¬ 
ways for five or six sous procure a refreshing draught of 
excellent milk, which in the warm days of autumn is the 
most salutary beverage, both allaying thirst and hunger. 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


239 


The different eminences above mentioned are safely acces¬ 
sible even to ladies, and afford a fine tableau to the sketcher 
and painter. Very bright specimens of crystal are found in 
this direction, and in the autumn the botanist may make a 
splendid collection of flowering and other plants. 

From the point Pelousa the descent to Sallanches is 
made, in passing down a ravine on the western side of the 
Porteta; and from the heights called les Yents de Gers, situ¬ 
ated at the south-western extremity of the valley leading 
from the lake in Gers, there is a direct passage to the lake 
of Flaine, thence to Arraehes, and subsequently to Maglan, 
midway between Cluses and Sallanches. Sixt, indeed, fre 
quently receives visitors who have passed in this direction. 

From the Point du Perfiat there is a track, sufficiently 
traced in summer and autumn by the cattle and their pro¬ 
prietors, leading directly to the chalets of Sales; those who 
are not desirous of prolonging the tour as far as the Griffon 
and Point Pelousa will find it convenient. 

These wooden houses are the most considerable and 
numerous in the whole commune, and their proprietors are 
at all times exceedingly attentive to the calls of those who 
may be tempted by what they contain. On quitting them, a 
rising ground as far as the large Prat exposes to view a lofty 
mountain on the right, in which is a cavern, the asylum of 
the chamois, when too closely pursued by their indefatigable 
enemies: this cavern is as yet unexplored, and offers an 
enterprising speculation to amateurs of this description of 
pleasure. Ascending still an acclivity, les Yerdets, the De- 
rochoir to the south appears; two hours from the chalets in 
Sales are required in order to arrive at the edge of the rock, 
from which is discovered the whole valley of the river Arve 
as far as Sallanches, and nearly to Chamonix. The Mont 
Blanc appears in almost the whole of its grandeur. Opposite 
are the baths of St. Gervais, and in the background all the 
different eminences, as far as the platform of Megbve. There 
is a ravine, by which the descent is made to Servoz; the 
passage was formed by the fall of a part of the mountain in 
1751. It cannot be very strongly recommended to tourists, 
on account of the stones which are occasionally detached 
from the rotten rocks in the parts where the separation took 
place; it is nevertheless frequented, and, as yet, no accident 
of a serious kind has ever occurred. 


240 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


Passing over the Lochees to the west, the mountain of 
the Porteta is reached, on which are found very bright crys¬ 
tals with their two points complete. The Dent du Midi to 
the north-east, above St. Maurice in the Valais ; the moun¬ 
tains of the Chablais, encircling the lake of Geneva, are 
clearly seen from its summit. Eastward of the Derochoir is 
the platform of the Chalamanes, the summer pasture for the 
horses of Sixt. From the Porteta the descent is made to 
Passy, a commune bordering on that of Sallanches ; to the 
south-east is seen the proud eminence of Tete a l’Ane, the 
highest point in the range of the Rochers des Fiz which en¬ 
circle the plateau de Sales in its whole circumference, except 
on the side of the Porteta and the Chalets de Sales. 

Eeturning to the Chalets of Sales, and following the 
road leading to Sixt, a small chapel is seen on the right 
hand, where mass is performed once a-year ‘ to bless the 
cattle.’ His reverence is abundantly paid for his pains, as 
the whole of the butter made on this day is conveyed to the 
cure of Sixt: three men are scarcely able to transport the 
booty to its destination. Furthermore, a good sum in money 
is contributed from the meagre purses of the natives. 

The road below the chapel becomes tolerably good; a 
little in advance appears a cross, and almost immediately 
afterwards the cascade Trainon issuing forth from the rock. 
This is the original source of the celebrated Roger. Several 
other minor falls attract the attention in descending: two 
first, les Dovrees, which, springing from the middle of the 
rock, before reaching the ground are dispersed in mist; the 
next is that of Cenoni, another of the principal supplementary 
streams of the Roger. In this part of the descent is a rather 
steep and rugged kind of staircase (le Pas de Sales); at its 
base is a platform termed le Clos: the stream is soon after¬ 
wards passed by a wooden bridge; a cross appears imme¬ 
diately, to which is attached a certain importance. On the 
right, to the south-east, is the Point of Sales, near which is 
seen a rock in the shape of a chimney; an aperture in its 
summit permits the sky on the opposite side to be clearly 
distinguished: it is said to be the property of his Satanic 
majesty. A rumbling of stones and other strange sounds are 
heard every day, and although the spot may excite a little 
dread in those unaccustomed to these wild scenes, no one as 
yet has ever suffered any injury in this locality ; this cross is 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


241 


supposed to be the protection of the peasant, and the coun¬ 
ter-influence to the designs of the arch enemy of man. 

On the left, to the west, are the precipitous rocks, which 
uphold the mountains of the Perfiat, and twenty minutes’ 
walk lower down the stream is seen the Cascade le Clos, 
which in conjunction with another, named la Pleureuse, 
from its waters forming as it were a veil in resemblance of 
the graceful branches of the weeping-willow, augments the 
stream considerably. Bounding from rock to rock, the 
current, in a very rapid descent, and receiving sundry small 
contributions from the springs of the surrounding hills, 
becomes in the summer months almost a river: passing, 
finally, on the left of the Chalets de Lignon, with a majestic 
bound, it forms the fall of the Roger. 

In the months of May, June, and July, there are few 
waterfalls in Europe that surpass it in beauty ; its position, 
body of water, and elevation (nearly 400 feet fall), together 
with the surrounding scenery, render it an object of the 
greatest interest and attraction : before making its final leap 
into the basin by the side of the road leading to Servoz, its 
course is diversified by several minor bounds, which are 
seen to the best advantage from the road leading to the 
Fonds, in the direction of the Buet. 

Pedestrians who, leaving the Abbaye de Sixt, pass 
through Salvagny and over the Pont de Sales, in order to 
visit Roger, are apprised that their return may be varied by 
taking the path through the forest les Marmotets, conducting 
to the cascade near Englene, of which mention was made 
some few pages back: the homeward course in this direc¬ 
tion is only adapted for gentlemen, as it is necessary to 
pass through brushwood and over rather unlevel ground; 
the shade of the forest, however, and the delightful scenery, 
amply compensate for a few rough encounters in the road. 

It is not meant to assert that the tour through Gers, 
and the mountains subsequently spoken of, can be accom¬ 
plished in a single day; even to the v ry strongest persons it 
would be found too fatiguing: to obviate the inconvenience 
of descending before having completed the whole survey of 
this extensive range, one of the villagers is generally sent 
with sheets and other necessary linen as far as the Chalets 
of Sales, where such repose as the place affords is easily 
obtained. The people are accommodating, and feel pleasure 

it 


212 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


in receiving these mountain visits: a franc or two to the 
girl who presides over the hut is a sufficient recompense. It 
should be stated that ptarmigan are found in abundance; 
there are also grey and red partridges in certain places of 
the above mountains. Chamois in considerable numbers 
exist in every part of the commune, and afford excellent 
sport to those fond of the rifle exercise. 

The Buet, called also la Mortine, the lion of Sixt, the 
boast and glory of the guides, and the highest point of 
the Alps nearest to Geneva, is accessible to even very 
moderate pedestrians. There are two methods to adopt in 
visiting it:—first, by leaving Sixt as early as five a.m., the 
summit is attained by mid-day, and the tourist, allowing 
sufficient time for a careful survey of the surrounding 
beauties, will be able to reach Sixt by seven p.m. at the latest. 
Second, by transporting sheets and other articles to the 
Fonds, the distance is shortened by nearly three hours. 
There are several decent chalets in the beautiful opening of 
the Fonds belonging to the natives of Sixt; one lately 
built, entirely new, offers a very tolerable night’s retreat. 

From the Fonds to the summit of the Col des Chaux 
three hours are required; from hence, to the highest point 
of the Buet, about two hours more; making a total from the 
Abbaye de Sixt of between a seven and eight-hours’ trip. 

The first hamlet on quitting the chef lieu, la Maison 
Nueve, is situated about half way between the Abbaye and 
Salvagny; the latter the most considerable village in the 
commune, and although the most filthy and uninteresting, 
by far the richest both in cattle, specie, and land. The 
inhabitants are excessively avaricious, bigoted, and pilfering, 
and oppose every improvement in the road to Servos and 
Chamonix; blind in this respect to their own interests, and 
selfish in the extreme -with regard to those of the guides 
and others who are interested in advancing civilisation by 
the introduction of persons of superior education, position, 
and manners. 

The torrent of the Nantsec intersects the road at a very 
little distance from the village, crossing which, the heights 
are gradually passed, and the road becomes tolerably level 
and sheltered from the heat by a forest (la Grande Joux); an 
opening in a place called Esperit, discloses on a sudden the 
cascade Roger: from no other point can it be viewed so 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


243 


interestingly, sufficiently near to calculate its sheet of water, 
and at an elevation affording a full display of its different 
leaps, before making its final fall into the basin on the side 
of the road leading to Servos. 

Threading the tortuous path of the forest, half-an-liour’s 
stroll brings us to the Granges des Pelis de Soret. From 
the opposite bank falls a pretty cascade, la Jouxbas, which 
derives its waters from the lake at the foot of the Col 
d’Anterne. In the month of June, when its usual stream is 
increased by the melting of the snow on the surrounding 
hills, it forms a delightful variation to the desolate air 
and awful calm of the sombre ravine of the Jouxbas. 

From hence, continuing the walk along the side of the 
hill, and through the forest of the Soret, the chalets of the 
Fonds soon appear. To the left, several cascades, which 
form the source of the Petit Gifre, descend from the glaciers 
of the Buet. On the left of the stream—that is, before 
passing the w r ooden bridge—is a track, passing over the 
rocky heights, which form the eastern boundary to this very 
retired and verdant retreat, les Fonds. Chamois hunters 
and others have occasionally adopted this course as a passage 
to the Buet; the guides conduct those committed to their 
charge by the path in the direction of the south. 

Leaving the chalets, and passing through a small forest, 
the torrent is crossed, and the ascent immediately begun. 
The road, if it may be so called, lies in a ravine for some 
distance, and then changes for a kind of turf imposed on a 
clay soil : nothing worth recording occurs till the summit of 
the Col des Cliaux is reached. On the right, to the south 
and west, is the forest Grasse Chevre, a particularly favourite 
haunt of moorcock and chamois; on the opposite side of it, 
towards the Col d’Anterne, ptarmigan (Tetrao lagopus) are 
found, more numerous than in any other quarter of the 
commune. (The guides are compelled to send back the 
mules to the Fonds, on reaching the Col des Chaux.) 
From the summit of des Chaux, the view to the north-west, 
west, and south is very extensive, and pleasingly occupies 
the few minutes here generally devoted to repose. Now 
commences the real ascent of the Buet, every pause in 
which discovers some fresh object to attract the attention, 
till, gaining the extreme height, a burst of unfeigned ad¬ 
miration proves the transcendent beauty of the surrounding 


244 


VALLEY OE SIXT. 


scenery. To the south, Mont Blanc, with its line of pointed 
satellites, calls forth the 'warmest exclamations of delight; 
to the south-east, Mont Rosa, Mont Cervin, and the other 
majestic eminences of the mountain range, which separates 
the canton of the Valais from Italy, arrest the attention by 
their great elevation and colossal forms; to the east, ill 
fine weather, are descried the Jungfrau, Finsteraarhorn, 
Schrekhorn, and Wetterhorn—in fact, all the towering 
prodigies of the Bernese canton; to the north, the Dent 
du Midi, which rises to about the same elevation as the 
Buet; the Diablerets, separating the canton de Vaud from 
that of the Valais, are distinctly seen ; to the west, Savoy, 
Dauphine, and with a glass even Grenoble : the mountains 
of the Jura and parts of France beyond them, the lake of 
Geneva and adjoining towns, are visible to the north-west. 

There are two directions leading to Chamonix from the 
Buet; the one by Valorsine, the other by the Brevent. 

Passing by Valorsine, the descent is commenced over 
hard snow, which fills up the intervals between the rotten 
and craggy rocks; sometimes the path lies directly on them. 
The first halt is made on a rock named la Table au Chantre, 
which presents natural seats, inviting the traveller to repose. 
Passing between round primitive rocks, the interstices in 
which are covered with turf, the Pierre a Berard is reached ; 
a flat rock, under which a stable for twenty cows, beds for 
the shepherds, and fittings for cheese and butter-making, 
have been constructed. Continuing the descent, small 
glaciers issuing from the Aiguilles Rouges are seen. A 
rather steep part, covered with snow, is now passed over, and 
subsequently a green acclivity, leading to a larch forest, at 
the extremity of which is a small oval plain, from whence is 
a rapid descent to the bridge by which the Trient is traversed, 
and the narrow valley of the Col Berard entered. A pretty 
cascade, issuing from between two ledges of rocks, is des¬ 
cried ; and soon afterwards a small hamlet, named la Cou- 
teraie, appears : subsequently the village la Poya, dependent 
on Valorsine, and distant about one hour from it. The 
remaining part of the road does not require describing. 
Valorsine is distant about three hours and a half from 
Chamonix. 

Taking the route of the Brevent, a rather fatiguing 
descent of more than an hour brings the traveller to the 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


245 


Col de Salenton, and hence to the Chalets de Villy, through 
a narrow valley; these chalets, distant about four hours from 
the summit of the Buet, are frequently made a retreat for 
the night by those visiting it from Chamonix. The next 
chalets, distant about a league from Villy, are those of Barme; 
a valley, flanked by the Aiguilles Rouges, leads directly to 
them. Following a path at the foot of these pointed heights, 
the chalets of Arlevay or Releve are attained in about an hour; 
hence the path, passing up a ravine of no very agreeable 
kind, reaches the Brevent in a place called the Chimney. 
The descent is subsequently made to the Prieure of Cha¬ 
monix by the Col Pliampras, and the chalets of the same 
name. 

From the Chalets of Arlevay, if it be deemed preferable, 
the direction of Servos may be taken by crossing the Dioza, 
a stream descending from the base of the Buet, near the 
Chalets of Moede, and thus rejoining the track leading 
from the Col d’Anterne. (See the road from Sixt to Servos.) 
Another manner of reaching Chamonix is offered by passing 
between the Aiguilles Rouges, and thus falling on the Fle- 
gere. The guides of Sixt are perfectly acquainted with the 
various lines here sketched, and no traveller has the slightest 
reason to dread an accident when accompanied by them. 

From the Prairies de Soret, lying to the north of the 
Buet, two hours’ walk across the hard snow leads to the 
mountain Nabochon; in two hours from thence the Fenestral 
is reached, and in about an hour from the latter the village 
of the Finhauds is gained; hence the road is direct to 
Trilient and Salvent, in the canton of the Valais : a hardy 
trip of from six to seven hours, presenting a fine view 
from beginning to end of the mountains of the Valais, Ber¬ 
nese, and Mont Blanc ranges. A sportsman would be almost 
certain of falling in with chamois, black cock, and other 
mountain game. Sixt and the adjacent villages boast of 
some of the hardiest and most courageous chamois hunters 
in the whole Alps. There are annually from seventy to a 
hundred killed in the commune: young ones maybe pro. 
cured by addressing a line to Mr. W. Rayer, of the Convent 
of the Abbaye de Sixt, and every information with respect to 
the sporting can be forwarded from the convent. 

There reside at the Abbaye de Sixt, two of the most 


240 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


experienced and enterprising guides to be found in Savoy, 
Andre and Pierre Rannaud. 

The journey from Sixt to Servos requires between seven 
and eight hours ; the road passing through Salvagny, over 
the Pont de Sales, and under the fall of the Roger, leads to 
the Chalets of Lignon ; one hour and a half from thence to 
the cascade Du Clos and Pleureuse, is rather a rough walk 
of three-quarters of an hour; here the path branches off 
from the direct line into Sales, and turning to the south-east 
brings the tomist, after a sharp ascent of one hour, to the 
Col d’Anterne. The scene from this point is one of the 
most pleasing kind: the Buet directly in front, the valley of 
Sixt, and of the Ponds in a great part; and the mountains 
forming the northern boundary of the commune are fully 
exposed to view : to the west the Pics of the Marmotets and 
Plages, supported in the background by the sturdy moun¬ 
tains of Gers, form a charming picture, and gratefully enter¬ 
tain the beholder during the quarter of an hour generally 
allowed for repose. In no other locality are the rhododen¬ 
drons found of greater beauty and luxuriance, towards the 
latter part of June, than on this hill. From the Col the 
road is tolerably well traced to the Chalets d’Anterne, which 
are reached in half an hour. In the summer months milk 
and cream may he had of the peasant-girls for a trifle ; and 
a few minutes are here granted the mules for a feed of oats. 
To the west is seen the towering form of Tete a l’Ane, the 
highest point in the commune next to the Buet; it forms a 
paid of the Rocliers desFiz. The whole line of rocks here dis¬ 
played contains fossils and other curiosities in geology. The 
observer will remark, too, a continued line of a ferruginous 
substance towards the base of the mountain, extending from 
the rocks at the entrance into Sales as far as the Deroelioir. 
Resuming the omvard course, a steep ascent of half an hour, 
over rotten rocks, and ten minutes’ descent, bring us to the 
lake of Anterne ; a rather pretty sheet of water, escaping by 
a subterraneous passage in the direction of the Rochers des 
Fiz ; hence to the Col d’Anterne is a gentle rise of half an 
hour. The hills round the lake abound in ptarmigan, and 
offer excellent sport in the month of October. The soft 
turf, near to the cross, engages the tourist to make a short 
halt, and admire the grand view which is here suddenly dis- 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


247 


played. In front appears the majestic Mont Blanc, with the 
other pics of the same range; overtopping the Brevent, the 
Aiguilles Rouges, and the mountain of Pormenas, which over¬ 
hangs Servos. Nothing can be more grand that the coup 
cl'ceil from the Col d’Anterne ; on which side soever the eye 
turns, it meets with some noble prodigy of nature. The 
wooded and celebrated commune of St. Gervais, and beyond 
it Megeve, the Col de Forclaz, and even as far as the Mont- 
joli, with several other mountains in the Savoyen and Ta- 
rentaise provinces, may be distinctly seen. Turning towards 
Sixt, the Dent du Midi raises its spiral head above all the 
other different heights ; some few of the Bernese mountains 
may also be seen, the principal are masked by the huge 
Grenier de Commune. 

Descending an execrable slope of rotten slates, the direc¬ 
tion of the south is taken ; in the bottom are seen the Cha¬ 
lets of Moede, which lie in the line to gain those of Arlevay, 
and so on to the summit of the Brevent: to the east, 
winding round the hill adjoining the Col, is the path leading 
to Yilly: drawing rather towards the Rochers des Fiz, and 
passing over a rugged tract interspersed with several ac¬ 
clivities, an hour from the Col brings the traveller in sight 
of the Chalets of Nayer, which are left considerably to the 
south-west. The Derochoir is immediately above them, and 
in the background the mountain of Varens. Entering the 
fir forest directly to the south, the remaining part of the 
road, by following the tract frequented by the cattle, is not 
difficult to discover; the village below, called the Mont, is a 
quarter of an hour distant from Servos, and two hours from 
the Col d’Anterne. 

From Sixt to Cliambery, Monthey, and the Yal d’llier, is 
a good mule-road throughout, descending to Samoens; and 
passing the mills picturesquely situated under the Point 
Chaumette, the road lies a little to the east, or right, as far 
as the Allemands, two hours distant from Sixt. Hence the 
path varies a trifle to the left, or north-west, as far as the 
scattered houses, or Hameau de la Croix, Leaning still to 
the left, a gentle rise of three-quarters of an hour gains the 
Col de GoDze: 6n the side of the path is a spring of sul¬ 
phurous water, of great strength, but of little volume; the 
odour arising from it sufficiently indicates its locality. The 
Col is distant one hour and a half from the Allemands, and 


248 


VALLEY OF SIXT. 


consequently three and a half from Sixt. Descending into 
the Plain Sardonnieres, and leaving the chalets of the 
same name to the left, the Fretrole is traversed; on the left 
are the Chalets of Fretrole; hence to the summit of the 
Col de Coux is an easy ascent: two hours from the Col 
de Gol&ze are required. The cross and stones implanted in 
the turf mark the limits of the canton of the Valais and of 
Savoy. 

Passing down a narrow valley, with chalets on the right 
and left, and drawing somewhat to the west, the mountain 
Beroue is passed; the track from this point is visible through¬ 
out: two hours from the Col are necessary to reach the 
village of Chambery. It would not be advisable to make the 
different, excursions herein described without guides, nor 
can the road be shown on paper sufficiently clear to au¬ 
thorise any one in attempting the mountain passages with¬ 
out attendants. 

Keller’s map, the best extant, is not correct with regard 
to the valley of Sixt and adjoining commune : for instance, 
he places the Col de Coleze close to the Fer a Cheval, 
whereas there intervene the Vaudru, Greyou, les Folies, the 
Vozal, and Bore mountains ; again, the line describing the 
ascent of the Buet is drawn on the wrong side of the 
mountain. 

Martigny is distant twelve hours from Sixt; the jour¬ 
ney can only be made by the most robust and expe¬ 
rienced tourists : one-fourtli only of the road is practicable 
with mules. The hamlet of Passy, situated on the sloping 
hill to the south-east of the Abbaye, is left to the right; 
the path thence lies through beech, larch, and fir forests, 
with intervening openings. A fine and extensive tract of 
pasturage ground is now entered, enlivened in the summer 
and autumn months by herds of cows, goats, and sheep, and 
the presence of the girls who attend on them. In two hours 
the Chalets of Commune are reached; hence, to the cross 
on the summit of the hill at the foot of the Grenier de 
Commune, is a tedious rise of one hour and a half. The 
mules now return to Sixt, and the rest of the distance is 
performed on foot. Threading the tortuous track of the 
Tete Noire, the ascent of the Grenairon is soon begun; 
from the cross two hours and a half are requisite to reach 
the point over which the road passes. Having surveyed the 


VALLEY OE SIXT. 


24 !) 


grand and varied scenery presented from every direction, 
the descent on the opposite side leads us to the mountain of 
Nabochon, and subsequently to the forest of Fenestral, the 
most celebrated, perhaps, in the whole Alps for black cock 
and other game. The whole distance from hence to Salvent 
is an alternation of hill and vale of a fatiguing description, 
here and there interspersed with forest and chalets. In 
three hours from the forest of the Fenestral, or in five 
from the summit of the Grenairon, the uninteresting bourg 
of Salvent presents itself; hence to Martigny, about two 
hours distant from the former village, is a tolerable road. 

Sportsmen desirous of amusing themselves with chamois 
hunting should be provided with either a good rifle, or 
a double gun previously proved; as many guns, excellent for 
field sports, are not calculated for carrying a ball. A port 
d, ’armes and perniis de chasse are requisite; they may be pro¬ 
cured either from Chambery or from Bonneville. Mr. Piclet, 
her Majesty’s Consul at Geneva, is generally kind enough 
to arrange this affair for those unacquainted with the manner 
of procuring them. 

The manner of hunting is as follows :—Several chasseurs 
are employed, part of whom, with the persons forming the 
party, are posted in certain passages where the chamois, 
from being surrounded, are forced to pass; the others, with 
the aid of dogs, push them towards the different posts. It 
seldom happens but that one or other, and often several, 
succeed in firing. The flesh is of great delicacy towards 
the month of October, and the skin and horns are held in 
high estimation. The more numerous the party, the less 
need, in consequence of extra chasseurs to fill the vacant 
posts. The expense is from 30 to 40 francs per day, which, 
shared amongst four or five persons, cannot be considered very 
extravagant. Two of the best chasseurs and the most expe¬ 
rienced in the mountain passages of Sixt, and the adjoining 
country, are Jean Baud of Vallon, called the Intrepid; and 
Francois Joseph Nambride, of the village Du Croc, called 
the Chasseur. Peter, rue du Perron, near the Magdalene, at 
Geneva, is gunsmith. Rifles and guns can be hired at 
Geneva for a very trifle. 


250 


CHAMONIX TO MARTIGNY. 


CHAMONIX TO MARTIGNY. 

The journey from Chamonix to Martigny may be made 
either by the Tete Noir or the Col de Balme, in seven or 
eight hours’ walking. Each road is well tracked, and no 
guide is necessary. The way as far as to either pass from 
Chamonix has been already described among the excursions 
in the preceding route. 

For Tete Noir the traveller ascends the vale of Chamonix 
by les Pres, the Tines, across the Arve, to the left of Ar¬ 
gentine, and past its glacier. Beyond this point the road 
turns to the north, to the left of that leading to La Tour and 
Col de Balme, past the Moulets, and thus by a desolate 
ravine to the Yal Orsine and the village of the same name. 
The valley narrows below this latter place, and assumes a 
ravine-like character; more agreeable, however, than the last 
through which we passed on the other side of the crest, 
abounding with pretty waterfalls and luxurious vegetation. 
The frontier of Savoy is in this gorge ; the Orsine is crossed 
soon after reaching it, and the scenery becomes more open. 
The road to the Tete Noir is now led over the side of the 
mountain by a series of cuttings, beyond which is the 
auberge called by the high-sounding title of Hotel de la 
Couronne. We are now close to the Tete Noir, as the 
black wooded crest of the mountain is called, which we 
skirt in following the road where it turns sharply into the 
forest of Trent. 

A slight variation of this route from Yal Orsine, by which 
a view of a fine waterfall is gained, is described in the fol¬ 
lowing passage:— 

“ My guide carried me by a side-path to a scene of great 
beauty and grandeur, which travellers often miss seeing, be¬ 
cause it is off the grand route and difficult to find, and many 
of the guides either do not know it, or do not wish to take 
the additional trouble of getting to it. This was the Cascade 
Barberina, one of the finest waterfalls in Switzerland. The 
torrent of water comes down from the glaciers of the Buet, 
and makes a sudden and most terrific plunge sheer over the 
precipice into a black jagged mountain gorge, with a mighty 


CHAMONIX TO MARTIGNY. 


251 


roar and crash that is almost deafening. On this side yon 
stand upon a green knoll, a little grassy mountain, of which 
the verdure is perpetually wetted by the spray, and holding 
on by your staff firmly thrust into the ground, or by a tree 
on the borders of the gorge, you may look down into the 
roaring depths, see the cataract strike, and admire the con¬ 
flict of the waters. The accompaniments are very grand: 
hanging masses of verdant forest on either side ; hut above, 
enormous, snow-covered mountains, out of which, from the 
mouth of a craggy gorge, hursts at once upon you the raging 
torrent. In a sunny day you would have rainbows arching 
the torn rocks glittering in the spray, and dancing over the 
impearled grass where you are standing. Coming to it, my 
guide carried me along the side of a mountain across the 
path of a tourmente , or mountain whirlwind, the marks of 
which, in themselves alone, are worth going far to see. A 
circuitous belt of the largest trees amidst the pine and fir 
forest that clothes the mountain are stripped of branches, 
verdure, and sometimes bark, as if scathed by lightning, 
while others are broken and twisted, as you might twist a 
willow sapling. The fury of these tourmentes is inconceiv¬ 
able ; a traveller overtaken by one of them would inevitably 
he lost; they would almost tear the crags themselves from 
the mountains. A similar scene is presented in the valley 
up which you pass from Chamouny to see the Cascade des 
Pelerines, marking in this case the passage of an avalanche, 
of which the wind produced by its swift flight has swept, 
torn, and broken a thousand trees in the same manner. At 
first you can hardly credit it, hut you are convinced that it 
was the wind, and not the waves of the avalanche, by seeing 
some trees broken short off, close beside other trees pros¬ 
trated and stripped, and others still standing. From the 
Cascade Barberina we regained, by a romantic path, the 
grand route, which we could see far beneath us. I was 
hungry and tired, and it was high time to he so. My guide 
carried me into a mountain chalet, incomparably ruder than 
his own, built in the conical shape of a tent, with a hole at 
the top, so that the smoke might escape without the trouble 
of a chimney. As I stood to dry my clothes at the verge of 
the circle of stones where the fire was kindled, the rain came 
down upon me from the aperture above, demonstrating the 
comfort of the arrangements. The wigwam was inhabited 


CHAMONIX TO MAETIGNY. 


2 r>2 

by a very large family, and they talked in their native patois , 
of which I could not understand a syllable. They set before 
me a bowl of boiled milk, with black bread so hard that one 
of its large round loaves might have served Achilles for an 
embossed shield, or Ajax to play at quoits with. Neither 
had it the property of sweetness any more than of softness, 
but it is wholesome, and would keep for ages.” 

The road from the Tete Noir leads through the forest on 
the crest of the pass for about a mile and a half, and enters 
the little valley of Trient. This has its hamlet, its glacier, 
and its torrent, all bearing the same name, and is shut in 
on all sides by mountain barriers. A little way beyond the 
hamlet the path ascends the well-wooded side of the Forclaz 
towards the pass of that name, amid picturesque scenery. 
The pinnacles of the Forclaz (from one of which a young 
German lately fell and lost his life) are before you, and the 
little valley, with its cultivated plain and hamlet, are at your 
feet. The journey from the auberge on the Tete Noire to 
the Forclaz pass is about two hours. From the summit of 
the pass one of the finest views in Switzerland is gained ; 
this is the valley of the Rhone, shut in by two mighty 
mountain ranges: that to the north, the grand Bernese 
chains, to which the Jungfrau, the Monch, and the Eiger 
belong; that on the south, the Pennine Alps, with Monte 
Rosa and the Matterhorn. The descent from the Forclaz to 
Martigny takes about two hours. The w r alk is well shaded 
with timber-trees, and towards the bottom by orchards. 

The route of the Col de Balme, which, as far as the sum¬ 
mit, is described among the excursions from Chamonix, is 
celebrated for the magnificent view of Mont Blanc and his 
courtier-like attendants, and the glaciers which fill up the 
valleys at their base. 

“ It was five o’clock on an August morning, the clouds had 
vanished, we could not tell where, and the glory of this the 
heart of Switzerland’s Alpine grandeurs was disclosed ; the 
snowy Monarch of Mountains, the huge glaciers, the jagged 
granite peaks, needles, and rough enormous crags and 
ridges congregated and shooting up in every direction, with 
the long beautiful Yale of Chamouny visible from end to end, 
far beneath us, as still and shining as a picture! Just over 
the longitudinal ridge of mountains on one side was the moon 
in an infinite depth of ether; it seemed as if we could touch 


CHAMONIX TO MAHTIGNY. 


253 


it; and on the other the sun was exulting as a bridegroom 
coming out of his chamber. The clouds still sweeping past 
us, now concealing, now partially veiling, and now revealing 
the view, added to its power by such sudden alternations. 

“ Far down the vale floated in mid air beneath us a few 
fleeces of cloud, below and beyond which lay the valley, with 
its villages, meadows, and winding paths, and the river run¬ 
ning through it like a silver thread. Shortly the mists con¬ 
gregated away beyond this scene, rolling masses upon 
masses, penetrated and turned into fleecy silver by the sun¬ 
light, the whole body of them gradually retreating over the 
south-western end and bander of the valley. In our position 
we now saw the different gorges in the chain of Mont Blanc 
lengthwise, Channontiere, Du Bois, and the Glacier du 
Bosson protruding its whole enorme from the valley. The 
Grands Mulets, with the vast snow-depths and crevasses of 
Mont Blanc, were revealed. That sublime summit was now 
for the first time seen in its solitary superiority, at first ap¬ 
pearing round and smooth, white and glittering with per¬ 
petual snow; but as the sun in his higher path cast shadows 
from summit to summit, and revealed ledges and chasms, 
we could see the smoothness broken. Mont Blanc is on the 
light of the valley, looking up from the Col de Balme ; the 
left range being much lower, though the summit of the Buet 
is nearly 10,000 feet in height. Now on the Col de Balme 
we are midway in these sublime \iews, on an elevation of 
7000 feet, without an intervening barrier of any kind to in¬ 
terrupt our sight. 

“ On the Col itself we are between two loftier heights, 
both of which we ascended; one of them being a ridge so 
sharp and steep, that though we got up without much dan¬ 
ger, yet on turning to look about us, and come down, it was 
absolutely frightful. A step either side would have sent us 
sheer down a thousand feet; and the crags by which we had 
mounted upward appeared so loosely perched as if we could 
shake and tumble them from their places with our hands. 
The view in every direction* seemed infinitely extended, 
chain behind chain, ridge after ridg'e, in almost endless suc¬ 
cession. 

“ But the hour of most intense splendour in this day of 
glory was the rising of the clouds in Chamouny, as we could 
discern them like stripes of amber floating over the succes- 


254 


CHAMONIX TO MARTIGNY. 


sive glacier gorges of the mountain range on either hand. 
This extended through its whole length, and it was a most 
singular phenomenon; for through these ridges we could 
look, as through a telescope, down into the vale, and along 
to its farther end: hut the intensity of the light flashing 
from the snows of the mountains, and reflecting in these 
fleecy radiances almost as so many secondary suns, hung in 
the clear atmosphere, was well nigh blinding.” 

Beyond the Col the traveller descends to Herbagenes, and 
passes their pasturages and chalets to the Forclaz, nearer 
the head of the valley of Trient than by the way from the 
Tete Noire, the hamlet of Trient lying to his left. On the 
side of the ascent of the Forclaz the two routes join, and 
lead down to Martigny. 

Martigny (German, Martinach. Inns: Tour (best); bed 
fr., dinner 3 fr., breakfastl \ fr.; also the Poste). Being 
situated at the point where the road of the Great St. Bernard, 
Aosta, and Turin, and the mule-path over the Col de Balme 
or Tete Noir join the grand highway of the Simplon, Mar¬ 
tigny is much frequented by travellers in the summer season. 
It is, however, a wretched town, unhealthy and poverty- 
stricken. The brown woollen clothing worn by the inha¬ 
bitants is peculiar to Martigny. There is a convent here, 
from which monks are draughted to supply vacancies at 
the Grand St. Bernard. 

The diligence for Milan over the Simplon passes through 
the town, and conveys travellers for Sion, Yisp, and Brieg. 
The excursion to the Pisse-Vache, or Fall of Sallanches, may 
be advantageously made from here, supposing that the tra¬ 
veller omitted to make it from St. Maurice. It is about four 
miles distant on the road to Geneva. At a considerable 
height a strong stream bursts from a cleft in the rock, falling 
downward into a basin over which the foam and spray is car¬ 
ried far and wide by the wind. In the morning, when 
the sun is not concealed by clouds, the spectator below, on 
whichever side he stands, has before him a rainbow. Goethe, 
in 1779, described a still more singular phenomenon. “ If 
you go higher up, the airy foaming waves of the upper stream 
of water, as with their frothy vapour they come in contact with 
the angle of vision at which the rainbow is formed, assume 
a flame-like hue, without giving rise to the pendant form of 
the bow, so that at this point you have before you a con- 


MAJtTIGNY TO AOSTA, ETC. 


255 


stantly varying play of fire. We climbed all round, and, sit¬ 
ting down near it, wished we were able to spend whole days 
and many a good hour of our life on this spot.” 

The traveller, arrived at Martigny by the route previously 
described, and standing so as to look up the valley of the 
Rhone, has on his left the route for Geneva and France, and 
on his right the pass of St. Bernard, being the road of 
Turin. Higher up the Rhone valley are several smaller 
valleys, one of which, connecting the Rhone with the glaciers 
of the Pennine Alps by its stream, leads to Monte Rosa and 
the Matterhorn, with the pass of St. Theodule ; while a fine 
gorge on the opposite side leads to the Gemmi pass on the 
Bernese Alps, by which the journey may be continued to 
Thun. In the latter valley are the Baths of Leuk. Beyond 
the point of this deviation Napoleon’s great road conducts to 
the Simplon and Milan. 

MARTIGNY TO AOSTA, OYER THE GREAT SAINT 

BERNARD. 

The distance is about sixteen hours’ walking; namely— 
nine hours to the Hospice, and seven thence to Aosta. From 
Martigny to Liddes, and from St. Remy to Aosta, there is a 
carriage road; the rest of the route is practicable only for 
pedestrians and mules. Chars, mules, porters, and guides, 
are to be found at Martigny, Orsieres, and Liddes, and may 
be engaged at fixed prices ; viz. from Martigny to Liddes, 
guide and mule, 7 (French) francs; char, with two seats, 
15 francs ; with three seats, 20 francs; guide from Martigny 
to Hospice of St. Bernard, 10 francs; from Liddes to the 
Hospice, mule with guide, 4 francs ; there and back, in one 
day, 6 francs ; there, and back next day, 8 francs; from 
Liddes to St. Remy, 10 francs. The best way, however, is 
to take a mule at Liddes for the Hospice for 4 francs, as 
guides are always found there returning to Remy, and may 
be engaged for 3 or 4 francs. 

Setting out from Martigny we cross to the left bank of the 
Drance, leaving the village of La Croix about half a mile to 
our right, and ascend the course of the Drance by the villages 
of Brocard and Valette to Bouvernier. Beyond this village 
the road again crosses the river, which streams out of a gorge 
which grows wilder as we advance. By about half-an-hour's 


256 


MARTIGNY TO AOSTA, 


walking we arrive at the so-called Galerie de la Monnoye, a 
way which, for about 200 feet, has been made by blasting the 
rock. At its outlet are seen the ruins of a Carthusian mo¬ 
nastery, still overlaid with the soil and rubbish with which it 
was covered in 1818, by an irruption of the lake into the Val 
de Bagnes, which at this point opens upon our valley. The 
catastrophe caused great devastation in the valley of the 
Drance itself, traces of which are visible in several places. 
Bouvernier itself was only saved by the rock which projects 
before it. The way here again crosses to the left bank of 
the Drance, and at St. Branchier (inn, Kreuz), a dirty vil¬ 
lage, the two branches which form the Drance unite, one 
having come down from St. Bernard, and the other from the 
Val d’Entremont. 

Orsieres (inn, Krone) is a little village, at the point where 
the Yal de Ferret opens into the Yal d’Entreinont. The 
stream of the Drance is scarcely visible in its deep-sunken 
bed. The most picturesque section of the Pass is just above 
the village. 

Liddes has an inn, the Union. St. Pierre (inn, Kreuz) 
is a dirty village, with a church built in the eleventh century. 
A pillar is shown here which was originally set up on the 
crest of the St. Bernard’s Pass to the memory of the younger 
Constantine. On the other side of St. Pierre the traveller 
crosses a deep hollow, in which the Drance, pouring here 
out of the Orseythal, forms a pretty fall. The way formerly 
led through the forest, across rocks and the stumps of trees, 
so that when Buonaparte crossed the Grand St. Bernard 
(in May, 1800) with his army of 30,000 men, they had a 
fearful march through the forest, and over the frightful pre¬ 
cipices of St. Tierre. They dismounted the cannon from their 
carriages, put them in the hollow trunks of trees, and then one- 
lialf the battalions dragged them up the mountain, while the 
other half carried the arms and accoutrements of their com¬ 
rades, with stores of provisions for five days. The road at 
this day scales the face of the deep ravine over the Drance, 
having been cut boldly out of the perpendicular rock, wide 
enough for a carriage; so that one passing now so easily 
can scarcely conceive the difficulties with which Napoleon 
had to contend in scaling the precipices. For some distance 
up from St. Pierre, the road lies through the fir forest, where 
Napoleon came so near losing his life by slipping from his 


OVER THE GREAT ST. BERNARD. 


257 


mule on the verge of the precipice. He was only saved from 
falling over into the gulf by his guide, who caught him by 
the coat and thus preserved him. The guide was rewarded 
with 1000 francs, and it would not have been amiss if the 
tailor avIio made the consular coat had been pensioned like¬ 
wise, for if that had given w T ay the French would never have 
had an Emperor. The mountains here on both sides are 
hung with verdure, but this speedily ceases—the larches 
and the pines become stunted, and at length disappear, 
leaving nothing but a covering of mosses and patches of 
grass, and at last the bare grey crags, declivities, and pinna¬ 
cles of rock, or mounts of snow. You pass through difficult 
rugged defiles, and across rich mountain pasturages, watered 
by streams from the glaciers, which shoot their steep icy 
masses down into contact with the verdure on the plains. 

Beyond the forest, and the defile of Cherrayre, we come to 
the pasturages and chalets of Prou, and in about three-quar¬ 
ters of an hour arrive at the plain of Prou. Mont Velau, at 
this part of the journey, appears of enormous size, and 
threatens to close the way against us; its glaciers send forth 
streams into the pastures below, which are grazed by 
large herds of cattle. The road now ascends through an¬ 
other wild gorge, called the defile of Marengo, and half-an- 
hour’s walking brings us to a small inn, where, in case of 
need, a bed may be obtained. 

“ A little beyond St. Pierre is the boundary of the Papal 
states, and about tw r o hours further you reach the can tine, 
or auberge, the last habitable spot in a most desolate defile, 
utterly bare of trees and shrubs, gloomy and wild, just where 
the steep ascent of the Grand St. Bernard commences. I 
had intended getting to the Hospice that night, but it was 
altogether too late, even if I had had a guide: without a 
guide it w'ould have been rashness and folly to have attempted 
it. They gave me, at tins wild spot, a good supper, an ex¬ 
cellent bed, and a good breakfast, and were very moderate in 
their charges.”—G. B. C. 

The path from this point to the St. Bernard circles the 
precipices, and crosses the torrent, and scales the declivities 
in such a manner, that one may w r ell imagine how dangerous 
must be the passage in winter, when deceitful masses of 
snow have covered the abysses. A few wooden poles are 
stuck up here and there, to mark the w 7 ay, but at such inter- 

s 


258 


MARTIGNY TO AOSTA, 


vals that if, in a misty day, or when the snow has covered 
the foot-path, you should undertake to follow them, you 
would certainly fall. Indeed, one does not see how there 
can be any passage at all in the winter, when the snow falls 
to such a depth that around the building of the Hospice it 
is from twelve to twenty feet. 

There are some sinister-looking, little, low-browed stone 
huts, like ice-houses, planted here and there a little out of 
the path, the use of which a traveller would hardly con¬ 
jecture in fair weather. The guides will tell him that these 
are refuges in extreme peril, or in cases of death are used as 
temporary vaults, in which the stiffened bodies of unfor¬ 
tunate travellers are deposited till they can be finally laid, 
with book and bell, and funeral hymns, and solemn chant- 
ings, in the strangers’ morgue at the Hospice. 

About an hour and a half’s good walking brings the tra¬ 
veller to the summit of the Great St. Bernard, a name 
which, like that of St. Gothard, serves to designate not a 
single mountain, but rather a block of Alpine mosses. 
“ Nothing can be more beautiful than the flowers, which 
border the snow and ice, are sprinkled over the rocks, sown 
in the valleys, and spring up everywhere. Where the 
hardiest shrubs dare not grow, these grow. The fearless 
little things dance over the precipices, and gem the grass 
like stars. It is astonishing that they and the grass with 
them can thrive amidst such constant cold ; for I plucked 
an icicle hanging from a rock over which the green moss and 
grass were hanging also, and this in the month of August. 
The nights are cold, but the sun has great power. The cows 
find pasturage in summer quite up to the Hospice.” 

The Hospice of the Great St. Bernard comes suddenly on 
the traveller from the Alpine side; its stone steps almost 
hanging down over deep precipitous gulfs, into which a storm 
might sweep one in an instant. The deep bark of the dogs, 
who have little occupation in the summer, is one of the first 
salutations which greet the traveller as he passes the crowd of 
mules generally congregated about the gate of the building. 
The dogs are somewhat lean and long, as if their station was 
no sinecure, and not accompanied by quite so good quadru¬ 
pedal fare as their labours are entitled to. Probably the cold, 
keen air, keeps them thin. They are tall, large-limbed, deep- 
mouthed, broad-chested, and looking like veteran campaigners. 


OVER THE GREAT ST. BERNARD. 


259 


The breed is from Spain, and most extraordinary stories are 
told of their sagacity of intellect and keenness of scent, yet 
not incredible to one who has watched the psychology of dogs, 
even of inferior breeds. 

The Hospice is on the very summit of the pass, 8200 feet 
above the level of the sea, built of stone—a large build¬ 
ing, capable of sheltering three hundred persons or more. 
Five or six hundred sometimes receive succour in one day. 
One of the houses near the Hospice was erected as a place 
of refuge in case of fire in the main building. There are 
tremendous winter avalanches, in consequence of the accu¬ 
mulation of the snow in such enormous masses as can no 
longer hold on to the mountains, but shoot down with a 
suddenness, swiftness, violence, and noise, compared by the 
monks to the discharge of a cannon. Sometimes the snow¬ 
drifts encircle the walls of the Hospice to the height of 
forty feet; but it is said that the severest cold ever recorded 
here was only 29 degrees below zero of Fahrenheit: suffi¬ 
ciently cold, to be sure, but not quite so bad as when 
the mercury freezes. The greatest degree of heat recorded 
at the Hospice has been 68 degrees. The air always has a 
piercing sharpness, which makes a fire delightful and neces¬ 
sary even at noon-day in the month of August. The monks 
get their supply of wood for fuel from a forest in the Yal 
de Ferret, about twelve miles distant, not a stick being found 
within two leagues of the convent. The monastery was 
founded, according to some, hy St. Bernard of Meuthon; 
other traditions ascribe its origin to the piety of Charle¬ 
magne, or Louis the Pious. The duties of hospitality are 
discharged by ten or twelve Augustine monks, assisted by a 
number of serving-brothers called Maronniers. 

The monks remain at the Hospice only for a limited term 
of service. In general the brotherhood consists of young 
recruits, whose vigorous constitutions can stand but a few 
years the constant cold and the keen air of these almost un¬ 
inhabitable heights and solitudes. They enter on this life at 
the age of eighteen, with a vow of fifteen years’ perseverance. 
Much of the time is occupied in the daily exercises of the 
chapel — incense-wavings, and marchings to and fro, and 
kneelings, and chantings, and masses, and prayers. 

It is at no little sacrifice that the post is maintained, for 
the climate is injurious to health, and the dwellers here are 


260 


MARTIGNY TO AOSTA, 


cut off from human society during the greater part of the 
year. It is true that the peopling of the Hospice with an 
order of reliyieuses is now somewhat a work of supererogation, 
since a family, with a few hardy domestics, could keep up an 
auberge sufficient for travellers the year round, and at much 
less expense; nevertheless the institution is one of great 
benevolence, and the monks are full of cordiality and kind¬ 
ness. A guest-chamber or hall is kept for travellers, apart 
from the refectory of the monks; only two or three of the 
elder and more distinguished among whom are accustomed 
to entertain strangers. “ I sat down to dine with several 
Sisters of Charity from a village on the Alpine side, when 
there were two of the brotherhood presiding at the feast. 
It being Friday, there was no meat, but a variety of dishes, 
admirably dressed, and constituting a most excellent repast. 
The monks said grace and returned thanks with much 
seriousness, and they were pleasant and communicative in 
conversation.” 

They have a very nice chapel, adorned with paintings, and 
in it is a “ tronc," or charity-box, where travellers who par¬ 
take of the hospitality of the kind monks ordinarily de¬ 
posit alms, not of less amount than they would be charged 
at an inn, though the shelter and Hospice are entirely with¬ 
out charge. The Hospice is spacious, and the bed-rooms 
for strangers are very neat and comfortable. A pleasant fire 
is always burning in the guest-hall for travellers; and it is 
almost always necessary, for the air is keen in August. A 
piano decorates this room, the gift of some kind lady, with 
plenty of music, and some interesting books. The Register 
of the names of visitors abounds with interesting autographs— 
men of science and literature, men of the church and the 
world, monarchs and nobles, as well as multitudes both of 
simple and uncouth nomenclature, unknown to fame. 

There is a museum in a hall adjoining the strangers’ 
refectory, where one might spend a long time with profit and 
instruction. The collection of medals and antique coins is 
good, and there are some portraits, paintings, and engravings. 
There is in the museum a spirited drawing, which was pre¬ 
sented to the monks—a sketch of the dogs and the monks 
rescuing a lost traveller fi’om the snow. The Hospice is 
drawn as in full sight, and yet the dogs, monks, and tra¬ 
vellers, are plunging in the snow at the foot of an enormous 


OVER THE GREAT ST. BERNARD. 


201 


pine-tree. However, there is not a tree of any kind to be 
seen or to be found within several miles of the Hospice. 

A scene of deep interest at the Hospice is the Morgue, 
or building where the dead bodies of lost travellers are 
deposited. Some of them are there just as when the 
breath of life departed, and frost and snow stiffened and 
embalmed them for ages. The floor is thick with name¬ 
less skulls and hones and human dust, heaped in con¬ 
fusion. But around the wall are groups of poor sufferers in 
the very position in which they were found, as rigid as 
marble, and in this air, by the preserving element of an 
eternal frost, almost as uncrumbling. Two years ago there 
were a mother and her child, a most affecting image of 
suffering and love. The face of the little one remained 
pressed to the mother’s bosom, only the hack part of the 
skull being visible, the body enfolded in her careful arms— 
careful in vain, affectionate in vain, to shield her offspring 
from the elemental wrath of the tempest. The bodies were 
recognised the winter before last, by some ornaments on the 
mother’s neck, and were taken down to the Yal d’Aoste for 
interment. There is also a tall, strong man, standing alone, 
the face dried and black, but the white, unbroken teeth 
firmly set and closed, grinning from the tieshless jaws—it is 
a most awful spectacle. The face seems to look at you 
from the recesses of the sepulchre, as if it would tell you the 
story of a fearful death-struggle in the storm. 

It is some years since any persons have been lost in 
passing the mountain, though some additions to the se¬ 
pulchre are annually made. In December 1825, three 
domestics of the convent, together with an unfortunate 
traveller, of whom they had gone in search with their dogs, 
in a stormy time, were overwhelmed with an avalanche. 
Only one of the dogs escaped. These humane animals 
rejoice in their benevolent vocation as much as the monks 
do in theirs. They go out with the brethren in search of 
travellers, having some food or cordials slung around their 
necks ; and being able on their four feet to cross dangerous 
snow-sheets, where men could not venture, they trace out 
the unfortunate storm-victims, and minister to their suffer¬ 
ings, if they find them alive, or come hack to tell their 
masters where the dead are shrouded. These melancholy 
duties were formerly far more frequent. 


263 


MARTIGNY TO AOSTA, 

It is a curious fact, that on account of the extreme rarity 
of the atmosphere at the great elevation of the Hospice, the 
water boils at about 187 degrees of Fahrenheit, in conse¬ 
quence of which it takes nearly as long again to cook meat 
as it would if the water boiled at the ordinary point of 212 
degrees. The fire must be kept glowing, and the pot boiling 
five hours, to cook a piece of meat which it would have taken 
only three hours to get ready for the table, if the water 
would have waited till 212. This costs fuel, so that their 
dish of bouilli makes the monks consume an inordinate 
quantity of wood in the kitchen. 

The deep little lake before the Hospice, though on the 
sunny Italian side, does not melt till July, and freezes again 
in September, and in some seasons is not free from ice at 
any time. The snow falls almost every day in the year, 
aud when it melts, it reveals to the waiting eyes of the 
inmates nothing hut the bare ridgy backs and sharp granite 
needles, crags, and almost perpendicular slopes of the moun¬ 
tains. Not a tree is to be seen anywhere, nor a sign of 
vegetable life, nor a straggling shrub of any kind, but only 
patches of moss, and grass, and flowers. 

Travellers purposing to return hence to Martigny, need 
not journey by the same route; hut may pass by the 
northern or Swiss Val de Ferrex, which runs parallel with 
the Val d’Entremont. On the other Italian side of the Hos¬ 
pice, which we cannot leave without regret, the view is very 
grand, though you see nothing hut countless ridges of moun¬ 
tains. The snowy Yelan is an object of great magnificence. 
Setting out for the Yal d’Aoste we pass by the right shore of 
the little lake, the centre of which is the boundary line be¬ 
tween Savoy and the canton Valais, within which the Hos¬ 
pice stands. On the other side of the path is the plain of 
Jupiter, on which once a temple to the chief deity of the 
mountaineer, called Jupiter Poeninus. (Deyck, in the “ Jahr- 
biicher des Vereins von Alterthums-freunden.” Bonn, 1847.) 
After travelling partly by a narrow path, for about three- 
quarters of an hour from the Hospice, we reach the basin of 
the Vacherie, with the chalet of the same name. One of the 
chief of the mountains which surround this basin is the 
Pain de Sucre, so called from its imaginary resemblance to a 
sugarloaf. A rapid winding descent brings us from the un¬ 
disputed domain of ice and granite, first to the mosses, then 


OVER THE GREAT ST. BERNARD. 


203 


the scant grass, then the mountain-shrubs, to St. Remy, 
where we regain a wood practicable for vehicles. Chars re¬ 
turning to Aoste may be generally found here; a bargain 
should be made with the voiturier, who will ask 50 or 20, and 
take 10 francs for the distance. The Sardinian Custom¬ 
house is at this village, and at St. Oyen is a passport-office. 
These documents are again examined at Etroubles, where 
the road passes the Buttier. The fir-forests, and, at last, the 
luxuriant vineyards and chestnut verdure of the Yal d’Aoste, 
come in sight. It were endless to enumerate the wild and 
beautiful windings of the route, the openings from it, the 
valleys of picturesque beauty which run off among the 
mountains, and the grandeur of the view of Mont Blanc, 
when you again encounter it. The retrospective view upon 
the great snow-covered peaks of the mountains which inclose 
the Yal de Cogne belongs to the fairest of Alpine sights. 

Aosta, or Osten (inns : Post or Krone, and Ecu du Valais ; 
both good), the Civitas Augusti of the Romans, is most 
beautiful in its position, close to the junction of the rivers 
Buttier and Doire, in the centre of a luxurious valley, from 
many points of which you can see both the Mont Blanc and 
the snowy ranges of the Grand St. Bernard. Magnificent 
mountains, girdled with beautiful verdure far up towards 
their rocky summits, enclose the valley, and rich vineyards 
cover their beautiful slopes below. It has a population of 
6000, including numerous cretins. Sardinian antiquarians 
assert for it an antiquity of 3000 years, and identify it with 
Cordele, the chief city of the Salassi. The Romans con¬ 
quered it twenty-six years before St. Augustus founded it 
anew and gave it his own name. A triumphal arch, a bridge, 
a handsome gate, and other remains, still exist in a ruined 
state, and attest the former greatness of the town. Anselm, 
archbishop of Canterbury, was born here, and St. Bernard 
was archdeacon of the district. 

The city of Aosta was for a little season the scene of the 
labours of Calvin, a place of retreat from the persecutions of 
his enemies. But he was obliged to flee from this beautiful 
valley; and now in the city itself there is a stone cross with 
an inscription at its base, to commemorate his departure. 

From the Cite d’Aoste to Courmayeur, at the end of the 
valley near Mont Blanc, it is about twenty-seven miles. 

“ I have seen Mont Blanc from all the best points of view, 


2GI 


MARTIGNY TO BRIEG, WITH THE 


from tlie Brevent, the Flegere, from St. Martin, in fine wea¬ 
ther in August, with every advantage, and from the Col de 
Balme on a day in October, so glorious that I then thought 
never could be presented, at any other season, such a junc¬ 
ture of elements in one picture, of such unutterable sub¬ 
limity and beauty. But, all things taken together, no other 
view is to be compared for its magnificence with this in the 
Yal d’Aoste. The valley from this point up to Courmayeur, 
more than twelve miles, forms a mighty infolding perspec¬ 
tive, of which the gorges of the mountains, inlaid and with¬ 
drawing one behind another, like ridges of misty light, lead 
off the eye into a wondrous depth and distance, with Mont 
Blanc completely filling up the close. This scene, by the 
winding of your way, bursts almost as suddenly upon you as 
if the heavens were opened.” 

MARTIGNY TO BRIEG, WITH THE EXCURSION 
TO MONTE ROSA. 

“ If I had to advise any one as to the best route into 
Valais, I should recommend the one from the Lake of Geneva 
up the Rh6ne.”— Goethe. 

At Martigny the Rhone makes a sudden bend to the 
north-west, so that the upper and lower sections of its stream 
as seen from Martigny form a right angle. Its shores, for a 
considerable distance, are marshy; the alluvial soil, which ex¬ 
tends about four miles on each side of the river, being inun¬ 
dated with every swelling of the water. The people of the 
valley afford a proof that disease, uncleanly cottages, hard 
labour, penury, scanty and unwholesome food, will trans¬ 
form beauty into ugliness, even under the most delicious 
climate. 

‘ * ’Tis said, fantastic Ocean doth unfold 
The likeness of what e’er on land is seen; 

But, if the Nereid Sisters and their Queen, 

Above whose heads the tide so long hath rolled, 

The dames resemble whom we here behold. 

How terrible beneath the opening waves 
To sink, and meet them in their fretted caves, 

Withered, grotesque, immeasurably old!” 

In the valley of the Rhone, the traveller’s attention is 
painfully drawn to the miserable cretins, and those unfor- 


EXCURSION TO MONTE ROSA. 


265 


tunate beings whose necks are distended with the excre¬ 
scences of the goitre, as if hung round with swollen bladders 
of flesh. The poor creatures so afflicted seem always to have 
an exceeding weight of sadness in their countenances, al¬ 
though they go about labouring like others. These frightful 
diseases prevail among the population of the Valais to a 
greater extent than anywhere else in Switzerland. Poverty, 
disease, and filth, mark the whole valley. 

Of the two physical plagues that infest the beautiful val¬ 
leys of Switzerland, cretinism is by far the worst. It is the 
most repulsive and painful form of idiocy that can be wit¬ 
nessed. It makes the human being look less intelligent 
than the brute. A hooting cry between a howl and a burst 
of laughter sometimes breaks from the staring and gibbering 
object before you,—a creature that haunts the villages, you 
cannot say like a spectre, for these miserable beings seem 
always in good flesh, but like the personification of the twin- 
brother of madness, and far more fearful. It creates a 
solemn awe in the spirit to look at one of these beings, in 
whom the mind does not seem so much deranged as de¬ 
parted, gone utterly,—not a gleam of the spirit left, the house¬ 
hold dog looking incomparably more human. The cretin 
will sometimes hobble after you with open hand, grinning 
for charity, with a chaotic laugh, like a gust of wind clatter¬ 
ing through the hall of a ruined castle. 

In the midst of poverty this calamity is doubled, and none 
of its salient points of grim, disgusting misery, can be con¬ 
cealed. The families and villages where it is developed are 
for the most part miserably poor. Filth, squalid corners for 
sleep, and impure nourishment, help on the disease, like 
fuel for the plague. No moral causes are set in motion, no 
more than physical, to combat or hinder its progress, or 
ameliorate the condition of its victim; the family and the 
village bear the burden in silent, hopeless despair, as a con¬ 
demned criminal wears his chains. The only milder feature 
of the wretchedness that you can think of is this, that the 
poor cretin himself is not in pain, and is perfectly insensible 
to his condition. 

On leaving Martigny we ascend the valley of the Rhone, 
on the left bank of the river; that is to say, having it on our 
left, by a road nearly straight as far as Riddes, where we 
cross the river by a wooden bridge. St. Pierre, Ardon, and 


260 MARTIGNY TO BRIEG, WITH THE 

Veltroz lie on our way. Near Laplace a footpath leads to 
the Diablerets. 

As we approach Sion the view is exceedingly picturesque 
and romantic, several extensive old castles on successive 
craggy peaks, that rise in commanding grandeur, and seem, 
as you advance upwards, to fill the whole valley. One of the 
highest summits is crowned with a church or convent, a 
somewhat imposing object, seen against the sky long before 
you arrive at the base of the village. The vieiv from this 
church in every direction, or from the crags on which it is 
perched, is so extensive, so rich, and so picturesque, as 
abundantly to recompense even a tired traveller for the toil 
of the ascent. 

Goethe, who was here in November 1779, wrote :—“ The 
(old) road was disagreeable and rough, and perhaps we, 
therefore, enjoyed the more the green festoons of the vines 
which overarched it. The peasants, to whom every spot of 
their patrimonial earth is precious, plant their vines close 
against the walls which divide their gardens from the road, 
where they grow to a surprising thickness, and by means of 
stakes and trellises are trained across the road, so as also to 
form one continuous arbour. Towards Sion the scenery is 
extremely diversified by a variety of hills; but the hideous¬ 
ness of the town and the people fearfully disturb the plea¬ 
sant impression which the scenery leaves. The frightful 
goitres put me out of humour.” 

Sion (German, Sitten: inns, Lion and Croix ; neither very 
good), is a town of 2700 inhabitants. It is the capital of the 
canton of Valais, and under Napoleon’s empire was incor¬ 
porated with the department of the Simplon. The ruins of 
the episcopal castle of Tom-billon are seen on the left as we 
approach from Martigny. The remains of a Romish fort 
are seen on a lower hill to the right. The town itself is 
dirty, and its streets narrow and ill paved. Its church and 
rathaus are not worth visiting. 

About seven miles above Sion we come to Sierre (German, 
Siders: inn, Sonne, good), situated in the prettiest portion 
of the valley of the Rhone, and having some picturesque 
ruins of old burgs, the castles of Geronde, Siders, Pongord, 
&c. A good wine, not unlike Malmsey, is produced in the 
neighbourhood. Here one of the roads to the Gemmi 
Pass and the Baths of Leuk turns off to the left, passing 


EXCURSION TO MONTE ROSA. 


207 


through the villages of Inden and Yaren. A small valley, 
which opens to the south opposite Sierre, is said to have 
contained a heathen population, unknown to the rest of 
Christendom until the twelfth century. 

Beyond Sierre the main road crosses the Rhone, and fol¬ 
lows the left hank of the river as far as Brieg. About four 
miles above Sierre we pass, but on the opposite side of the 
river, the embouchure of the Dala, at whose mouth the 
village of Leuk is situated. Here the second of the roads to 
the Gemmi and Baths of Leuk leaves the highway of the 
Rhone valley, crossing the river by a bridge. The journey 
from this point, as far as Yisp, is monotonous and unpictur- 
esque ; the same huge bluff mountains of rock bounding 
the road, and the same marshy soil forming the banks of 
the river. Of the two banks, the left is greener and better 
wooded. Behind Sierre is the memorable Pfinger-wald, full 
of little conical hillocks, such as bestud the post-road, and 
well timbered; an admirable military position, worthily de¬ 
fended by the Yalaisians against the French in 1798, but 
taken, nevertheless, by stratagem and surprise. Pfing, on 
the right of the road, is considered to mark the boundary of 
the two languages spoken in Yalais. 

Tourtemagne (German, Turtman : inns, Post or Loire, 
and Sonne, both good) derives its name from the Turris 
Magna, now used as a chapel. The Val de Tourmagne, 
eighteen miles in length, opens to the south opposite the 
village, and terminates among the Pennine Alps. The tor¬ 
rent which it sends down forms a pretty cascade about half 
a mile from the village. The overflowing of the Rhone ren¬ 
ders the neighbourhood exceedingly swampy. Opposite 
Brunk, and on the right bank of the Rhone, about four miles 
above Tourmagne, are seen the ruins of the Bas Chatillon, 
or Nieder-Gestelen. 

Yisp, Yispach, or Yiege (inn, Weisses Pferd or Poste, 
better than the Sonne, but not very good), was formerly the 
little capital of the Haute Valais, and the residence of its 
aristocracy. It has since fallen into a state of great degra¬ 
dation, from which it seems, however, to be recovering. It 
has large houses, and open streets, and two good churches. 
It is situated in the gorge of the Visp valley; the bed of 
the Yisp, which here pours into the Rhone a stream almost 
as large as that of the Rhone itself, is 13 feet above the 


208 EXCURSION TO THE RIFFELBE11G AND MONTE ROSA. 

town, which is thus in perpetual danger of inundation. 
The town is partially defended from calamities of this kind 
by artificial works. Nevertheless the fields on every hand 
are covered with stones and other debris brought down by 
the torrent of the valley. The 

EXCURSION TO EIFFELBERG AND MONTE ROSA 
is made up the Valley of the Visp. 

The great difficulties which have been represented as 
attaching to the ascent of the valley have deterred travellers 
from visiting what incontestably belongs to the most mag¬ 
nificent scenery which Switzerland can boast. Doubtless 
the journey demands a cool head and firm foot, at the same 
time it is not more dangerous than many of the best-tra¬ 
velled passes. The village of Zermatt, which lies con¬ 
tiguous to the glaciers of Monte Rosa, is about 30 miles 
from Visp. A mule-path ascends the torrent as far as 
Stalden, where we find the two streams which bring down 
the waters from their primitive glaciers among the Pennine 
Alps. The road to Zermatt tracks the more westerly of these 
streams, which is on the right hand as we ascend the valley. 
Guides may be found at Visp at the usual hire of six francs 
a-day, or a horse and leader may be engaged for nine francs 
a- day, the same sum being charged for the second or return 
day, whether used or not. 

The path, on leaving Visp, leads close along the right 
hand of the torrent until we reach Neubruck, about five miles 
on the road, where a stone bridge crosses the bottom of the 
valley. The valley is here finely wooded, and retains this 
feature until we reach the mountain barrier at its head, and 
for several miles our way leads among vineyards, where vines 
now and then actually overhang our path. Flowers are 
scattered with great profusion on every side, and the path 
is bordered by beds of wild strawberries and bushes of rasp¬ 
berries, whose bright yellowish red berries contrast with 
the black fruit and rich green leaves of the wild currant. 
About three miles from the bridge is Stalden, a large vil¬ 
lage, with dirty-looking wooden houses and a tolerable inn, 
situated on an eminence which looks down upon the con¬ 
fluence of the two branches of the Visp. That on the 
east comes down from the valley of Saas; that on the west, 
through which our journey lies, flows through the St. Ni- 


EXCURSION TO THE RIFFELBERG ANU MONTE ROSA. 269 

cholas or Matterthal: both streams originate in the glaciers of 
the Alps grouped round Monte Rosa. A vast mountain-ridge, 
called the Saasgrat, runs out in a direct northern direction 
from Monte Rosa, and separates the Saas and the Matter 
valleys as far as Stalden, where it suddenly terminates. 
This rocky promontory is the base of the snow-coverecl 
Baifrein, which at Yispach is often taken for Monte Rosa. 
At Stalden the Zermatt lies still on the left bank of the 
Visp, deviating a little from the stream for a short distance, 
but soon returning and crossing to the right bank, about 
six miles beyond Stalden, just before reaching St. Nicholas. 
Four waterfalls, three on the left and one on the right bank, 
embellish this section of the route. Our path here alter¬ 
nately ascends or descends along the precipitous side of a 
narrow ravine, at the bottom of which a furious torrent is 
raging. The Weisshorn, the Schwarzliorn, and the Bruneik- 
horn, are almost continually in view after we leave Stalden. 

The village Granchen, which is seen conspicuously situated 
at the end of the range which divides the valleys of Saas 
and St. Nicholas, was the birth-place of Thomas Plater, a 
distinguished scholar of the sixteenth century, but still more 
remarkable as a man. He was originally a cowherd at 
Granchen; then he went to Basle, and made ropes; next he 
taught himself the art of printing ; then he taught Greek and 
Hebi’ew; and at last became a professor and rector in the 
Gymnasium of the city. 

St. Nicholas, which gives its name to the valley, is natu¬ 
rally its largest village. It is finely situated amongst or¬ 
chards and woods, on a ledge of the mountain ; its houses, 
like those of Stalden, are of wood, but its church is large. 
There is an indifferent auberge here ; but travellers usually 
resort to the house of the cure, a good man, who seems to 
regard hospitality as a natural incident of his social position. 
Although a gentleman, and of generous disposition, it should 
not be forgotten that he is a poor man. “ When the time of 
our departure came, not knowing exactly how I should re¬ 
munerate our host for the expenditure of his goods, I 
emptied my purse in his hand, and begged he would oblige 
me by taking what he pleased. Without the slightest 
coyness or hesitation he at once turned over the various 
pieces, and selecting three French francs from among them, 
gave me to understand that this was to be the payment. 


270 EXCURSION TO THE RIFFELBERG AND MONTE ROSA. 

This sum being less than we should have paid at a common 
inn (for breakfasts for three, with coffee, milk, eggs, butter, 
honey, cheese, preserved plums, &c.), I remonstrated with him, 
and begged him to take more. I urged him to take merely a 
five-franc piece, hut he steadily refused.”— Dr. John Forbes. 

Beyond St. Nicholas the path gains the eastern side of the 
river, which it keeps as far as Zermatt. The ravine narrows, 
and puts on a wilder aspect. The mountain-slope becomes 
so steep, that at many points the extremest caution is re¬ 
quired to avoid falling from the path into the depth of the 
gorge. Numerous falls are passed, and their torrents here 
and there cross our route. 

Banda is a village of some size, standing on an open plain, 
covered with Alpine pastures. Its position, opposite a gap in 
the western side of the valley, through which the Bies glacier, 
an arm of the Weisshorn glacier, projects, has twice subjected 
it to the direst misfortunes. In December, 1819, a body of ice 
and snow became disrupted from some unknown cause, 
and covered the surrounding fields and pastures with stones 
and fragments of rocks. The rush of wind produced by the 
swift motion of the mighty masses of ice and snow which 
were detached, was like that caused by an explosion of gun¬ 
powder, and carried off the roofs of and otherwise damaged 
118 houses. Two persons were killed, and several wounded. 
All the hay of the village, upon which the inhabitants relied 
for the support of their cattle in winter, was dispersed, and 
the greatest misery prevailed. 

Above Banda the wildness of the ravine increases. At 
Dasch, or Tesch, where there is a bad inn, a mountain 
ridge closes the valley; our path takes a sudden turn, and 
the Matterhorn bursts upon the sight, projecting its tall 
pyramid of snow into the sky, apparently close to the tra¬ 
veller’s side. The Matterhorn (French, Mont Cervin ; Italian, 
Mont Silvio,) is scarcely 1000 feet lower than Mont Blanc; 
it rises without any gradation from the glacier masses which 
surround it, to a height of 4000 feet, and is 11,000 feet above 
the sea-level. Its marvellous isolation and great slender¬ 
ness distinguish it in a most striking manner from all the 
peaks or horns of the Alps, and excite a feeling akin to sur¬ 
prise, even in travellers accustomed to the grandeur of Swiss 
scenery. 

Owing to the peculiar conformation of the valley already 


EXCURSION TO THE RIFFELBERG AND MONTE ROSA. 271 

referred to, the path crosses the gorge in which the river 
flows thrice before the village of Zermatt can be entered, 
although we were close to it as soon as we left Tesch. At 
Zermatt we encounter a repetition of the dirty wooden 
houses of Stalden and Randa; the inn, however, kept by 
“ Doctor ” L’Auber, as he is called on the spot, is a very 
comfortable halting-place, considering the out-of-the-way 
corner of the world into which we have strayed. The village 
stands in the centre of a plain, hemmed in by dark pine- 
forests and immense glaciers. At a height of more than 
4000 feet above the sea-level, and amidst eternal snow and 
ice, vegetation maintains an almost tropical character. 

Zermatt (Italian, Proborgue) is the centre and starting- 
point of numerous excursions among the magnificent moun¬ 
tain scenery of the Pennine Alps. Guides are to be found 
at Zermatt, but the engagement of a reliable and effective 
one is not always an easy matter. The good ones know no 
French and only a bad German, while stories are told of 
incompetent pretenders who have conducted travellers 
among the snows of Mont Cervin and then left them to 
their own ingenuity to find a way out. Herr Lauber’s ad¬ 
vice should be taken in this matter :— 

“ Several persons waited upon us as soon as we were ar¬ 
rived, and offered their services as guides. One of them, 
named Joseph Brantschen, showed us a certificate signed 
by several naturalists, who recommended him to travellers. 
We engaged him, partly on account of his apparent good 
humour, and had no reason to repent our choice.”—(M. 
Desor.) 

Three valleys open near the village, each with its appro¬ 
priate glacier. On the east is the Findelen glacier, on the 
south the Gorner glacier, and on the west the Zermatt 
glacier, all mere tongues of the immense ice-sea which sur¬ 
rounds the group of which Monte Rosa is the centre. The 
pass of Mont Cervin, or the Matterhorn, a difficult and 
dangerous road, which leads down to Piedmont by the 
Yal de Tournouche, and joins the road to Aosta at Cha- 
tillon, presents at its summit, 11,000 feet above the sea- 
level, a scene of surpassing magnificence. On one side the 
eye ranges over the valley of the Rhone to the opposite 
Bernese Alps, the Jungfrau, Eigher, and Monch; on another 
side takes in the views of the Breithorn and Monte Rosa, 


272 EXCURSION TO THE RIFFELBERG AND MONTE ROSA. 


and to the south overlooks the innumerable peaks by which 
the Alpine formation finally subsides to the plains of Upper 
Italy. The obelisk-like Matterhorn, in close proximity to 
the traveller at this point, completes by its imposing aspect 
the impression of wonder and admiration which such a 
scene cannot fail to excite. 

The best view of Monte Rosa is gained by ascending the 
Riffel, a range on the east side of the valley of Zermatt, and 
climbing the summit of the Rotlie Ivulm—a day’s work. 
The way to the Riffelberg lies due south, and leaves the 
Visp just above the village of Zermatt. The path passes 
through a hamlet called Wiegelmatten, and crosses a torrent 
called the Torrent of the Findel, which comes down from 
the glacier of the same name. The ground, which for a 
short time is level, soon begins to ascend, and becomes very 
steep. The Matterhorn is visible on the right along the whole 
of this ascent, and, indeed, almost monopolises the landscape. 
Bad guides will point out the extreme southern limit of the 
chain of the Riffel, from which there is a good view of Monte 
Rosa, as the end of the excursion. The true view, however, 
has to he reached by another hour’s good walking. We are 
now in a narrow valley, with a prospect only to the south. 
The steep western hill on our right, ending in a peak, is the 
true Riffelhorn; that on the east, to our left, is the Rothe 
Kulm, by ascending which we obtain an entire panoramic 
view. The hill is one heap of slaty blocks, without a particle 
of decayed rock in which the humblest plant might take root. 

The view from the Rothe Kulm is, in the number of the 
highest mountains which it commands, not to be equalled 
in the scenery of Switzerland. Within a circle of perhaps 
fifteen miles in diameter, the various peaks of the moun¬ 
tains, although of irregular distances, seem to range them¬ 
selves about the Riffelberg as a common centre, and fill the 
horizon with a vast continuous range of snowy barriers, 
worthy to he' the confines of a world. The magnificent 
Monte Rosa group, consisting of the Cima di Jossi, the 
Weissthor, the Greater Monte R< sa, the Lesser Monte Rosa, 
the peaks Castor and Pollux, and the Breitliorn, fill up the 
entire eastern and south-eastern horizon, the true Monte 
Rosa rising to the height of 15,100 feet above the sea, or 
7000 feet above the eye of the beholder. On the south-west 
is the Matterhorn, nearly 1800 feet above the sea; next 


EXCURSION TO THE RIEEELBERG AN1) MONTE ROSA. 273 

to this comes the Hohenenghorn; and beyond it still, in the 
west, the Dent Blanche: then to the north-west and north 
the view is crowded with innumerable nameless peaks, and 
beyond these the Bernese peaks, possibly the Jungfrau, 
Aletschorn, and Bietscliorn, just as visible as those of the 
Pennine chain. It would be ridiculous to attempt any 
eulogy of such a scene, but as very little account has 
hitherto been made of the excursion, it may properly be 
mentioned that travellers who have visited the Riffelberg 
and looked upon its surrounding peaks agree that nowhere 
among the Alps is a fascination so irresistible, a grandeur 
so awe-inspiring, encountered as on its summit. 

M. Desor, describing an excursion made by MM. Agassiz, 
Studer, Lardy, and other savants, members of the Natural 
Society of Helvetia, in 1839, says :—“ We finished our break¬ 
fast of goat’s milk at five o’clock; the weather promised 
most favourably, although the Matterhorn was concealed 
in a light haze. Having seen that all was ready—batons, 
hammers, veils, pipes, tobacco, and tinder, ‘ Partons ’ was 
the word. On leaving the village of Zermatt, we proceeded 
bv a gentle ascent towards the forest of larches which to the 
south crowns the first terrace of the grand chain of Monte 
Rosa. Presently we perceived the needles of the Gorner, 
or Zermatt glacier, and then the great vault out of which 
the Yisp flows. At its issue the glacier has only a breadth 
of about ten minutes; its surface is covered with blocks 
of different kinds, brought down by the several glaciers 
which come down and mingle in this sea of glass. Its 
lateral moraines are large, especially that on our left. The 
thickness of the ice is in places more than eighty feet. But 
we must hasten on, and leave details for another day. Our 
guide, who appears to pique himself on his own method ot 
exhibiting the glaciers, is also of this opinion. We follow 
him, then, by a path which passes through the forest on our 
left, and arrive in less than five hours on the top of the 
Riffel. From time to time we meet some Valaisians, who 
carry milk into the valley. They have passed the night on 
the mountain. On leaving the forest, the way, which thus 
far had been very steep, becomes more easy, and we are on 
a kind of plateau, covered with fine pasturages, which ex¬ 
tends from the base to the crest of the Riffel. From this 
point even the view is magnificent; we have, however, still 

T 


274 EXCURSION TO THE RIFFELBERG AND MONTE ROSA. 

to ascend. The route to the summit is painful, and the 
detours which we made on the steep side of the mountain 
before we could gain the summit occupied us two hours. 
We marched on, discovering at every step some new object 
of interest, but in silence ; people do not talk much climb¬ 
ing these mountains. Some of the party began to drop off, 
hut a good-humoured word from the guide and a little 
patience soon brought us all together again, and we ad¬ 
vanced slowly and in silence to the last mountain, whence 
we should doubtless he able to see the foot of the grand 
chain. Suddenly a peak appeared high above the horizon, 
then another, and another. ‘ Which of these is Monte 
Rosa?’ ‘Ja, ja, das ist er!’ exclaimed the guide, with a 
radiant air, as he pointed to the largest, to which our eyes 
were drawn. The guide regards the peaks as in some sort 
his property, and is proud when you admire them. At last, 
then, we are at the summit. In front of you the grand 
chain of Monte Rosa is displayed in all the majesty of its 
colossal peaks; at your feet is the glacier of Zermatt, oc¬ 
cupying to the extent of a mile the valley, which separates 
you from these mountains, an immense sea of ice. At first 
we were bewildered : we turned to the right and to the left, 
still the same gigantic masses ; then one would begin to 
count the horns, or look round to see if his neighbour was 
not affected like himself. None of us spoke. Only the 
guide hastened to inform us of the names which had been 
given to the various peaks, hut no attention was paid to his 
instructions. When the first solemn moment of contem¬ 
plation had passed, then each began to express his feelings 
to his companion. Presently I asked, 4 Joseph, what are the 
names of these mountains?’ Poor Joseph was astounded, 
and thought Messieurs must have very bad memories, as 
he had already repeated every name at least twice. How¬ 
ever, his amour propre was anything but wounded by our 
distraction. He began his chapter of names for the third 
time, with suitable pauses ; for the thought had occurred to 
him that, as men of the plains, we might have obtuser in¬ 
tellects than those of his mountain race. Thus he de¬ 
scended so far as to explain that the Weisshorn is so called 
because it is white ; the Breitliorn, on account of its breadth, 
and so on with other equally nice points of etymology. 
Meanwhile our designer prepared to sketch this vast pano- 


PASS OF THE GEMMI AND BATHS OF LEUK. 270 

rama, Agassiz standing by to take care that lie did not 
correct Nature, as artists are too apt to do. From the spot 
on which we stood (the western side of the Eiffel) the eye 
embraces all the principal summits of the chain, without 
speaking of the grand Matterhorn, which rises a little to our 
right, and is like the chef de file of the whole column. The 
names given to the peaks differ very much among the sur¬ 
rounding valleys; this is especially the case with Monte 
Kosa, and it appears that the people call by this name which¬ 
ever peak is best seen from their own village." 

From Zei’matt to Yispach the road must be retraced. 
About eight hours’ walking and a rest at St. Nicholas bring 
us to the end of the “ Excursion to Monte Rosa.” 


The Simplon road leaves the valley of the Rhone at Glys. 
Travellers, however, usually pass Glys and proceed to Brieg, 
where there is a posthouse, and which is connected with the 
road of the Simplon by a short chaussee. 

Brieg (inns: Simplon, good; Poste, bad; good beer at 
the Billard) is a little town of 800 inhabitants, situated 
amongst fertile fields and embraced by the Saltine and the 
Rhone. The odd-looking chateau with tin cupolas is the 
residence of Baron Stockalper. 

PASS OF THE GEMMI AND BATHS OF LEUK. 

The Gemmi Pass is a high valley in the vast mountain 
range, which extends in a continuous chain from the lake of 
Geneva to Mont St. Gothard, and separates Berne from 
Valais. There are two paths, besides the new carriage-road 
completed in 1847, all leading up the magnificent gorge of 
the Dala. The road leads direct from Sierre, and thus does 
not touch the village of Leuk, but is carried through Imden 
and Varen. The paths lead, one on the left and the other 
through Leuk, on the right-hand side of the Dala torrent. 

Leuk (Fr. Loeche : inn, Kreuz) is a curious little old town, 
with some picturesque ruins of a castle on a neighbouring 
height. No guide is necessary in ascending to the Baths, 
which are at the foot of the Gemmi, and stand further up 
the gorge. The path from Sierre is one of incomparable 
beauty, winding gradually within the mountains, and rising 
rapidly by a precipitous ascent, where at every step the view 



270 PASS OP THE GEMMI AND BATHS OP LEUK. 

up and down the valley you are leaving becomes more ini¬ 
mitably grand and vast. 

Clambering over the little village of "N aren, which at first 
was hanging above him, leaving it far below, as well as that 
of Leuk, which is seen farther up the valley, the traveller, 
toiling on, thinking perhaps that he is witnessing some of 
the wildest, most picturesque, and extensive views to be en¬ 
joyed on this excursion, comes suddenly upon a scene sur¬ 
passing all previous experience and anticipation. You rise 
to the summit of a steep ascent, step upon a space of table¬ 
land, advance a few feet, and suddenly find yawning before 
you a fearful gulf of some 900 feet deep, into which the ridge 
on which you stand seems beetling over, ready to fall with 
your own weight. It is the gulf of the Dala which rolls at 
the bottom, but almost too far down for you to see the swift 
glance of the water, or hear the roar. 

A few steps further on in the direction of this gulf the 
path turns a natural bastion of the mountain, and a gorge of 
overwhelming grandeur is disclosed. Below is the gulf 
plunging in a perpendicular line of almost a thousand feet, 
above you is a tremendous overhanging precipice of near an 
equal height, adown and across the face of which runs, cut 
out, the zigzag perilous gallery by which the traveller is to 
pass. Whole strata of this perpendicular face of the moun¬ 
tain seem loosened above, and ready to bury one in their 
fall; and the loose stones come thundering down now and 
then with the terror of an avalanche. Proceeding with careful 
step down the gallery or shelf, till he is near the pass, the 
traveller looks up along the perpendicular height above him, 
and sees bare pines that seem bending over the edge, and 
fringing the steep gigantic mountain brow. Towards the 
pass of the Gemmi the gorge is closed by a vast ridge of 
castellated mountains, and still beyond that loftier snowy 
mountains are shining. 

Beyond this valley the path passes through a forest of 
larches, and the landscape maintains its deeply-interesting 
character. There are s ill vast heights above and vast 
depths below; villages hanging to the mountain sides ; green 
pasturages and winding paths; chalets dotting the mountains; 
meadow slopes enamelled with llowers; deep, immeasurable 
ravines, torrents roaring down them ; colossal, overhanging, 
castellated reefs of granite ; snowy peaks with the setting sun 


pass of the gemmi and baths or leuk. 


277 


upon them. The eye commands a view far down over the 
valley of the Rhone, with its villages and castles, and its 
mixture of rich farms, and vast beds and heaps of mountain 
fragments deposited by furious torrents. The deep dark 
blue of the gorge at its upper end, and the proud sweep of 
the granite barrier which there shuts it in, apparently with¬ 
out a passage, make a deep impression on the imagination. 
The mountains rise like vast supernatural beings taking a 
matei’ial shape, and drawing around themselves a drapery 
of awful grandeur. Amidst all the grandeur of this scenery, 
in no place is the profuse richness and beauty of the Alpine 
flowers more delightful. The grass of the meadow slopes in 
the gorge of the Dala has a clear greenness such as is un¬ 
known hut to these mountain meadows. 

The village of the Baths of Letjk (Ger. Leukerbad ; Fr. 
Bains de Loeche) is a place of about 500 inhabitants, about 
4000 feet above the level of the sea, in a very singular 
hollow, which looks as if it had been dug out from between the 
mountains. The valley is open only to the south, and as this 
opening is not straight the vertical sides of the mountains 
seem to shut it in on every hand. There are seven princi¬ 
pal hotels, most of them large stone buildings, replete with 
every comfort, and strangely contrasting with the black old 
huts which hang like nests to the sides of this valley. The 
Hotel des Alpes, kept by Mr. Berger, sen., is one of the 
best; there is a table d’hote at six. The others are, Hotel 
de rUnion, H. Brunner, H. de France, La Maison Blanche, 
La Couronne, and the H. de Bellevue. There are also some 
pensions. 

There are above twenty hot chalybeate springs at Leuker¬ 
bad, the largest of which, the Lorenz, quelle a source de St. 
Laurent, rises in the small market-place, covered by a roof, 
under which is placed an image of the saint. This spring 
supplies the large Bains de la Place, the Neuf Werra, the 
Bain de Lurechois, and that ofVentouses. The tenue of the 
baths is far below that of the hotels, being tasteless, and 
somewhat dirty. The water is employed for various chronic 
diseases, obstinate cutaneous affections, rheumatism, and 
gout. Their natural temperature rises from 90° to 120°. The 
water is perfectly limpid, and without odour. 

“ In 1844, Dr. L. P. de Fellenberg, professor of chemistry 
in the Academy of Lausanne, analysed the waters of the* 


278 


PASS OF THE GEMMI AND BATHS OF LEUK. 


Bains des Guerisons and the St. Laurent. The following 
results of his investigation show that the springs of Leuk 
belong to what are called the chemically indifferent thermal 
springs, of which our Buxton springs are specimens, the 
higher temperature of the Swiss waters rendering their 
action, however, far more energetic.” 



Sources 

du Bains des Guerisons. 

Source de 

St. -Laurent. 


In 

2511,432 grams. 

In 

10,000 grammes. 

In 

10,000 grammes. 

Sulphate of lime 

3,8G4 

15,385 

14,792 

of magnesia 

0,650 

2,583 

2,298 

of soda .... 

0,100 

0,637 

0,587 

of potassa .. 

0,039 

0,155 

0,024 

of strontia .. 

0,009 

0,035 

0,037 

Chloride of soda 

0,021 

0,083 

0,063 

of lime. 

Traces. 

Traces. 

Traces. 

of magnesia 

0,053 

0,211 

0,071 

Carbonate of 



lime. 

0,135 

0,537 

0,412 

of magnesia 

0,027 

0,107 

0,0026 

of oxide of 




iron. 

0,011 

0,043 

0,026 

Silica . 

0,084 

0,334 

0,344 

Nitrates and 



iodides .... 

Traces. 

Traces. 

Traces. 


5,053 

20,110 

18,6566 


Eight hours a-day the patients at Leuk are immersed 
and steaming in hot water. The grand spring bursts forth 
like a little river close to the bath-house, of as great heat as 
124° Fahrenheit, and supplies the great baths, which are 
divided into wooden tanks, about twenty feet square, four in 
each bail ing, where men, women, and children bathe indis¬ 
criminately, clad in long woollen gowns. There they sit for 
hours in the water, some two or three weeks together, four 
hours at breakfast and four hours after dinner. It is very 
droll, and looks very foreign, to see them floating about, 
•such a motley crew, in such a vulgar mixture, some fifteen 
























PASS OP THE GEMMI AND BATHS OP LEUK. 279 

or twenty in each tank. It surprises us that persons of either 
sex, with any refinement of feeling, can submit to a process 
so coarse, so public, so indelicate. 

When inclined to judge the bathers at Leuk too harshly, 
we may do well to remember that, at the close of the last 
century, Smollett, and other accredited writers, were describ¬ 
ing something very like it in England. Thus the author of 
the “ New Bath Guide” says or sings :— 

“ ’Twas a glorious sight to behold the fair sex 
All wading with gentlemen up to their necks, 

And view them so prettily tumble and sprawl 
In a big smoking kettle as big as our hall; 

And to day many persons of rank and condition 
Were boiled by command of an able physician. 

Dean Spavin, "Dean Mangey, and Doctor De Squirt, 

Were all sent from Cambridge to rub off their dirt; 

Judge Bane, and the worthy old Councillor Pest, 

Join’d issue at once, and went in with the rest. 

And this they all said was exceedingly good 

For strengthening their spirits and mending their blood. 

Old Baron Vanteazer, a man of great wealth, 

Brought his lady, the Baroness, here for her health. 

Miss Scratchett went in, and the Countess of Scales — 

Both ladies of very great fashion from Wales. 

Then, all of a sudden, two persons of worth. 

My Lady Pandora Mac Scurvy, came forth 
With General Sulphur, arrived from, the North.” 

The bathers at Leuk say that this social system is resorted 
to because of the tedium of being obliged to spend six or 
eight hours a-day in the water. 

The traveller stands on a wooden bridge, and sees nothing 
but groups of human heads, emerging and bobbing about 
like the large corks to a fishing-net, among which are float¬ 
ing a score of little wooden tables with books, newspapers, 
and so forth, for the occupation of said heads, or tea and 
coffee with toast, or a breakfast a la fovrchel/e, for the supply 
of the bodies belonging to them. Some are reading, others 
amphibiously lounging, others coquetting at leisure with a 
capricious appetite, others playing chess, all up to the chin 
in hot water. The physicians discountenance reading, and 
recommend social amusements. One of the bathing-houses 
is for the poor, who are admitted free of expense. 

It is principally from France and Switzerland that the 
visitors come, and they have to be steeped three weeks in the 
water for cure. The usual hours are eight daily in the baths 


^80 


PASS OF THE GEMMI AND BATHS OF LEUK. 


and two in bed. There are no provisions for private baths, 
so that the necessity of making a iete a-tete of some fifteen 
or twenty together is inexorable. 

There are five resident physicians at the baths. 

The time consumed in the water leaves little opportunity 
for excursions in the neighbourhood. The promenades in 
the immediate environs are, of course, highly picturesque. 

The chief promenade begins at the Bain Werra, inter¬ 
sects the gardens and meadows to the south-west of the 
village, and terminates in the forest. It is large, almost 
level; bordered with young trees, and provided with seats 
placed at convenient intervals. There is a charming view 
from every point of its length. The promenade to the 
Echelles, or Dalaleitern, which are about three miles from 
the village, commences at the semicircular extremity of the 
preceding promenade. It passes at first through meadows, 
and then through a fir-wood, running along the base of the 
east cliff* to the south, and extending quite down to the 
banks of the Dala. Seats are placed in the forest on the 
line of this walk, which was constructed at the sole charge 
of a private gentleman, Mr. Kochlin of Mulhausen, in 1814. 
A little way further on we arrive in front of an enormous 
vertical rock, and perceive the first of the rough wooden 
ladders, which are placed one above another along the face 
of the cliff. There are in all eight ladders, and about 100 
rounds. The ladders do not follow each another in a con¬ 
tinuous line, but are adjusted to the inequalities and turn¬ 
ings of the rock to which they are fastened. These echelles 
serve to abridge the distance between the village and pas¬ 
tures of Albinen, which are on the top of the rock, and 
the Baths of Leuk; and, notwithstanding their apparent in¬ 
security, the villagers ascend and descend them -with heavy 
goods from year to year without disaster, though scarcely 
without danger. The walk and the cascade of the Dala, 
about two miles from the baths, is also very picturesque. It 
leads up a hill commanding the village to the last bridge 
over the Dala, and beyond it by a steep path on the left bank 
to the cascade. These are the every-day walks of patients 
at the Baths of Leuk. 

The chief excursion to be commended to the notice of the 
traveller is that to the Galmhorn, or Torrenthorn. A good 
mule-path rises in zigzag above the village, passing through 


PASS OF THE GEMMI AND BATHS OF LEUK. 281 

woods and pastures to the Pas de Loup. Here the path 
leaves the mule-track, and leaving the chalet of Torrentalpe 
to the right, ascends over a hare stony terrace, and some¬ 
times amid the snows. Arrived at the summit, 9500 feet 
above the sea-level, the traveller has one of the finest views 
to be seen in Switzerland. In front of him, and on the left 
bank of the Rhone, are the Weisshorn, Bruneckhorn, Schwarz- 
horn, Dome, Rathhorn, Teschhorn, Strahlhorn, Kletschhorn, 
and Botelhorn. Further on are Monte Leone, Monte Rosa, 
the Zinolhorn, Matterhorn, Dent Blanche, Dent Bleue, 
Optemma, and Mont Combin. At the extreme west is Mont 
Blanc. Coming round by the north we have the Bret, Dent 
de Midi, Moeoran, Diablerets, Savetsch, Rucoyl, Schwarz- 
horn, Lammerhorn, and Altels. Fitlie Ischingolhorn, Breit- 
horn, Grosshorn, Bietschorn, Nestliorn, and Finsteraarhorn, 
complete the interesting panorama. 

Several guides may be found at the Baths of Leuk, among 
whom Michael Brunner is well spoken of. 

The Gemini is one of the most extraordinary passes in 
Switzerland. There are several whose summits are higher, 
and which command a grander prospect, but the wonder 
here is that there should be any pass at all. The mountain 
of the Gemmi, apparently absolutely inaccessible, is the last 
point to which the traveller coming from Leuk would think 
of looking for an outlet. The valley is almost a cul-de-sac , 
having no opening except where you entered from the 
valley of the Rhone, and running up blunt, a little beyond 
the Baths of Leuk, against one of the loftiest perpendicular 
barriers of rock in all the Alpine recesses. You march up 
towards the base of the mountain ; you look above you, 
around you, but there is no way ; you are utterly at a loss. 
You still advance to within three or four feet of the smooth 
perpendicular rock, and still there is no outlet. While you 
are asking yourself whether there is any cave or subter¬ 
ranean passage, or whether you are to be hoisted, mules 
and all, by some invisible machinery, over the crags, the 
guide suddenly turns to the left, and begins a zigzag ascent, 
where you never dreamed it was possible, over a steep slope 
of crumbling rocky fragments, that are constantly falling 
from above, by which at length you reach a ridgy winding 
shelf or wrinkle on the face of the mountain, not visible 
from below. Here you might have seen from the valley 


PASS OF THE GEMMI AND BATHS OF LEUK. 


282 


parties of travellers circling the rocky wall, as if they were 
clinging to it sideways by some supernatural power, and you 
may see others far above you coming down. Sick persons 
are borne on litters down these precipices to visit the baths, 
and, it is said, sometimes have their eyes blindfolded to avoid 
seeing the perils of the way. Far and near you can see 
trees and crags, streams, towns, meadow-slopes, mountain 
outlines, and snowy summits. You rise from point to point, 
commanding a wider view at every turn. You overhang the 
most terrible precipices. You scale the face of crags, where 
narrow galleries have been blasted like grooves, leaving the 
mountain arching and beetling over you above, while there 
is no sort of barrier between you and the almost immea¬ 
surable gulf below. It is a passage which tries a man’s 
nerves. The little village and baths of Leuk look like a 
pai’cel of children’s toys in wax, it is so far below you. Now 
you can see clear across the Dala valley with its villages and 
mountains, clear down into the valley of the Simplon. Now 
the vast snowy range of mountains on the Italian side begins 
to be visible ; you can distinctly count their summits and 
follow their ranges, from Monte Rosa and the Yelan to the 
Grand St. Bernard. Presently a zigzag takes you again in 
the opposite direction, and again you enter a tremendous 
gorge by a blasted hanging gallery, - where the mountains 
on either side frown like two black thunder-clouds. This 
gallery, which is called the Gemmisteig, is a path, or rather 
stair, quarried out of the solid rock. It is about two Eng¬ 
lish miles in length and about four or five feet wide; but al¬ 
though the rock is almost perpendicular, the regularity of 
the zigzag stairs takes away its difficulty, as the solid balus¬ 
trades of stone exempt it from danger. On the other side 
of this awful gulf the chamois-hunters have perched a 
Avooden box for a sort of watch-tower beneath a shelf in the 
precipice, utterly inaccessible except by a long pole from 
beneath, with a few pegs running through it, in imitation 
of a dead pine. An inexperienced chamois might take it for 
an eagle’s nest, and here a man may lie concealed with his 
ride till he has opportunity to mark his prey. At this point 
there is a remarkable echo from the depths of the gorge to 
the opposite face of the mountain, and you hear the sound 
of your footsteps as if another party were travelling on the 
other side. You shout, and your words are twice distinctly 


PASS OF THE GEMMI AND BATHS OF LEUK. 


283 


reverberated and repeated. In some places this echo seems 
to be confused, and wild semi-human sounds are heard, 
which have been likened to the voices of people talking in 
a madhouse. Wordsworth seems to have heard the full cry 
of a hunting-pack rebellowing to the bark of a little dog, 
that took it into its head to wake the echo:— 

“ What beast of chase hath broken from the cover ? 

Stem Gemini listens to as full a cry, 

As multitudinous a harmony, 

As e’er did ring the heights of Latmos over. 

When, from the soft couch of her sleeping lover 
Upstarting, Cynthia skimmed the mountain dew 
In keen pursuit, and gave, where’er she flew. 

Impetuous motion to the stars above her. 

A solitary wolf-dog, ranging on 

Through the bleak concave, wakes this wondrous chime 
Of aery voices locked in unison,— 

Faint—far off—near—deep—solemn and sublime ! ” 

The zigzag ascent continues. Your mule treads with the 
utmost unconcern on the very brink of the out jutting crags, 
with her head and neck projecting over into the gulf, which 
is so deep and so sheer a perpendicular, that in some places 
a stone might be dropped into the valley below, above 1500 
feet, almost without touching the rock. The animal is 
trained to keep as far from the rock as possible, in order 
that its load might not strike against it, which might hurl 
the beast over the precipice. 

Arrived at the top of the pass, you again look for the last 
time on the Pennine Alps. The towering Weisshorn, 13,898 feet 
above the sea-level, is distinguished by his irregular cone and 
sharp peaks, and blocks out Monte Rosa from our view. 
The Bruneckhorn and Schwarzhorn lie on this the north 
side of the Weisshorn, but 2000 feet lower. To the east are 
seen the pyramidal peaks of the Saasgrat groups, the Dome, 
the Schwarzhorn and Balfrim, and to the west of the Weiss¬ 
horn, the Matterhorn, or Mount Cervin. Leaving the gorge, 
we pass a small shed, built for the use of travellers overtaken 
by a storm ; in which case it would perhaps stand one in a little 
better stead than an umbrella. The scene is wintry, wild, 
and desolate. The elevation of the site, 7200 feet above 
the sea, forbids the growth of plants, even of the lowest 
organisation. Stupendous walls and needles of bare rock 
shoot into the sky, and on the left of our path the Alpine 
snows feed a small black lake, the Daubensee. 


PASS OF THE GEM MI AND BATHS OF LEUK. 


284 


About two miles lower down is a solitary auberge, the 
“ Inn” of Schwarenbach, with a civil, pleasant landlord, and 
fare as good and at as moderate charges as can reasonably 
be expected in such a place. An avalanche swept the site of 
the auberge in 1782, and covered the valley below for some 
distance with desolation. 

Soon after quitting the inn, the pasturage vegetation com¬ 
mences, and you cross from the Canton du Valais into the 
Canton of Berne ; it is impossible not to be struck with the 
great contrast between the two regions, on entering the 
villages. From poverty, filth, and ignorance in the valley 
of the Rhone you pass to comfort, neatness, and intelligence. 
The vegetation begins speedily to luxuriate as we descend; 
large firs clothe the crags, herds of cows and oxen are pas¬ 
turing, and the lidges of rock so bare and perpendicular on 
the other side the pass, on this are hidden under thick 
forests. The mountains are split asunder in deep ravines, 
immense jagged chasms, which are fringed with rich verdure ; 
and the shade into which you enter is so deep, that it looks 
like evening, though the sun has not much passed the 
meridian. The side-views of the Oeschinen and Gasteren 
valleys, one on the right, the other on the left, as you 
descend toward Kandersteg, are exceedingly impressive, 
both for their savage grandeur and beauty. On one side 
you seem to look through the torn rock-rifts of the pass, and 
over forest-crowned projections of the mountains, into the 
icy palace of Winter; frosted spaikling peaks, and icy- 
sheeted crags, and masses of pure white snow, seen through 
the firs, make a singular wild contrast with the verdant 
scenery that arises immediately around you, and is spread 
out below you. On the other side, the path that takes you 
into the Oeschinen valley winds over green grassy slopes to 
introduce you to a lovely lake encircled by precipices and 
glaciers, at the foot of the Blumlis Alps. 

Kandersteg (inn, Cheval Blanc; much better than it was), 
the first village in the beautiful valley of Frutigen, consists 
of a few wretched wooden houses, scattered over a grassy 
expanse at the foot of the Gemmi, about 3300 feet above the 
sea-level. Beyond Kandersteg, the valley, which at first is 
narrow, opens : its lower portions are well cultivated, and 
the mountains which enclose it are well-ivooded to their 
summits. Frutigen (inns: Posthaus, Ober-Landhaus, and 


BK1EO TO 1)0310 D'OSSOLA. 


280 


Nutes-Landhaus,) is a village of about 1000 inhabitants. 
Reichenbach, at the mouth of the Rienthol, and Muhlinen, 
are villages of considerable size. We leave the valley of 
Frutigen on arriving at the base of the Niesen, which we 
round, to pursue a northerly course towards Thun. Between 
the Niesen and the Stockhorn Ave pass by the mouth of the 
Simmenthal, where the stream joins the Kander before it 
issues into the lake. The country is Avell Avooded and highly 
cultivated. We speedily come to the lofty bridge of Strat- 
lingen, and are in the country which has been described with 
the environs of Thun (p. 37). The town of Thun is about 
tAvo miles beyond the bridge. 

BRIEG TO DOMO D’OSSOLA. 

(PASS OF THE SIMPLON.) 

The road to the Simplon Pass begins at Brieg. The 
Milan diligences are 11 hours performing the distance 
from Brieg to Domo d’Ossola, of which 7± are occupied in 
gaining the summit and 3§ in descending. Inversely the 
ascent from Domo d’Ossola takes 7, and the descent to Brieg 
4 hours. A good walker accomplishes the journey on 
foot in about the same time. The construction of this fine 
road, it is well known, Avas carried out under the orders 
of Napoleon, Avho determined that his army on entering 
Italy—to fight, if necessary, a second Marengo—should 
not encounter the difficulties of the St. Bernard Pass. 
The road Avas commenced on both sides of the Alps in 
1800, and engaged the labour of nearly 30,000 men, 
and the skill of M. Ceard, assisted by a most poAverful 
staff of engineers, for above six years. The smallness 
of the incline, one inch per foot, appears surprising Avhen the 
steepness of the ground is considered: no expense, however, 
was spared to procure this advantage; terraces of gigantic 
size, galleries cut in the natural rock, bridges without number, 
and houses of refuge from the avalanches, make the Simplon 
road appear like the Avork of some Titanic race rather than 
of a generation which has scarcely yet passed away. 

About two minutes’ walk above Brieg the road passes by 
the bridge over the Saltine leading to Glys, leaves the 
Glyshorn on the same side, and makes a bend to the left. 
These bendings are necessarily repeated nearly to the 


28G 


BIUEG TO D0M0 D’OSSOLA. 


summit of the pass. Another turn brings us to a point from 
which we can look down upon the ravine, at the bottom of 
which the Saltine is travelling. “ We were allowed but few 
hours for rest at Brieg on this our last night before entering 
Italy. About two o’clock in the morning we were aroused 
by the conductor, and by the dim light of a lantern stepped 
into the coach which was to convey us across the Simplon. 
Slowly we ascended amidst fantastic piles of rock, amidst 
deep ravines and lofty heights. We had already been two 
hours under way ere the day dawned, and a turn of the 
winding road allowed us to gaze down upon the little town 
of Brieg which lay beneath our feet. The air was fresh and 
buoyant, and the birds were greeting the morn with their 
songs. One large bird, the lammergeyer, disturbed by our 
approach, spread his broad wings and soared aloft. And 
here, amidst Nature’s most majestic scenes, man has erected 
his own monument in the road which has been formed 
across the Simplon. Napoleon cut a way through the very 
heart of the granite of which the mountain is formed; rocks 
have been blasted, and watercourses dammed up, in order to 
form the vaulted passages through which the road leads in 
those parts of the pass most exposed to avalanches. It pro¬ 
duces a singular sensation to find one’s self in one of these 
galleries, and hear over our head the rushing sound of a 
waterfall pouring down with wild and impetuous fury into 
the vale beneath. As the coach travelled but slowly up the 
steep ascent we got out and walked, in order to enjoy the 
morning breeze. The stillness of this lofty region pos¬ 
sesses an indescribable charm for those whose eyes and 
ears are accustomed to the unremitted din and turmoil of 
daily life. Even more and more distant and diminutive 
appeared the little town of Brieg, of which the windings in 
the road allowed us every now and then to catch a passing 
glimpse. The valleys and their human habitations gradually 
vanish from our sight; even vegetation becomes more 
scanty, and the Alpine rose is seen less frequently peeping 
forth from the crevices of the rocks. Little huts are placed 
along the side of the road, on the spots where the avalanches 
most frequently fall, in order to afford a place of refuge 
for the traveller.” The first refuge is at the upper end of 
the gorge of the Saltine, about an hour’s walk above 
Brieg. Here the traveller can see the glacier near which 


BKIEG TO DOMO D’OSSOLA. 


287 


the road reaches the summit of the pass, three good hours’ 
walking from this place. The second refuge is thirty- 
five minutes from the first, and twenty minutes beyond it is 
Berisal, the third refuge, where a rude inn is kept, with 
horses and beds. Here, in 1814, a few hundred young 
German-Swiss inhabitants of the Haute-Valais chased 
several thousand Italian soldiers, who had come over the 
Simplon, thinking to conquer the Yalais. Another quarter 
of an hour brings us to the bridge over the Frombach, and 
twenty minutes further on the bridge over the Weissbach is 
reached. The fourth refuge is a quarter of an hour beyond 
this. In clear weather the Bernese Alps, especially the 
Jungfrau, Breithorn, and Moncli, are visible, with the 
Aletsch glacier moving down into the Rhone valley. Twenty- 
five minutes beyond this is the Schalbet gallery, 95 feet 
long, and cut in the living rock. The fifth, or Schalbet 
refuge, is fifteen minutes further on. Vegetation here 
altogether vanishes, and we enter upon the wildest part, 
which is, at the same time, the most dangerous portion of 
the road. Within less than a couple of miles there are 
three galleries, two refuges, and a hospice. Over the 
'latter, called the Kaltwassen galleries, the streams of the 
glacier of the same name pour into the gulf below. The 
sixth refuge is within a few yards of the summit of the pass, 
which is 6578 above the sea-level, and designated by a 
wooden cross. The next hospice, about ten minutes’ walk 
from the cross, was founded by Napoleon, and by him in¬ 
tended to become a second St. Bernard. For want of funds, 
however, the design was not carried out, until, in 1825, the 
convent of Martigny, of which that of St. Bernard is a 
branch, became the possessors of the building on the Sim¬ 
plon, and made it a place for the entertainment of travellers. 
Dogs of the St. Bernard breed are also kept here, but, in con¬ 
sequence of the goodness of the road, their services are rarely 
required. The household consists only of a few Augustine 
canons and some servants. The Hospice is far preferable, 
as a resting-place, to the inn at Simplon; and entertains, 
upon an average, 13,000 visitors per annum. The institu¬ 
tion is not rich enough to dispense with the return which 
all who can afford it make for hospitality received. 

The summit of the Simplon Pass is a dreary valley. About 
three miles on the other side is Simplon (Ger. Simpcln ; 


288 


BRIEG TO DOMO ifoSSOLA. 


Ital. Sempione: inn, the Poste). Pedestrians may here 
strike into a nearer way, which rejoins the carriage-road near 
the gallery of Algabi. The bridge of the Lowenbach is five 
minutes’ distance from Simplon. Beyond it the road winds, 
until twenty minutes’ further on we reach the confluence of 
the Krummbach with the Quirina, which flows down 
through a wild gorge from the Laven glacier, and after their 
union is called Veriola, and lower down Doveria. The 
hamlet of Goterg, or Algabi, is ten minutes from this con¬ 
fluence, and five minutes beyond is the gallery of Algabi. 
Upon emerging from this gallery the road enters the gorge 
of Gando, one of the wildest and most fearful glens in Swit¬ 
zerland. We now pass the eighth refuge, and a little dis¬ 
tance beyond it cross the torrent by il ponte alto, near which 
is the ninth refuge. An immense rock now seems to be 
right in our road. It has, however, been tunnelled through, 
and is now one of the finest witnesses to the skill and energy 
which constructed this magnificent road. In this gallery is 
the marble tablet with the inscription, “ JEra Italiea Napol. 
Impend. 1805.” Just at the exit of this gallery the stream 
of the Alpernbach, or Fressinone, falls down from a consi¬ 
derable height. A slender-looking bridge is carried over the 
fall. The rocky walls rise almost perpendicularly on botli 
sides of the gorge to a giddy height. The few objects that 
meet the eye are strangely contrasted ; the little light patch 
of sky with the dark gulf below, the regular sweep of the 
arch with the wildness of the torrent, form a picture sur¬ 
passing the Via Mala in grandeur. Opposite the Avater- 
fall there are traces of the old road yet visible; there are 
also some small waterfalls loAver down. Abour, half an hour’s 
walk further is Gondo, Gunz, or Ruden, the last of the 
Yalaisian villages. The inn here is a curiously-built house 
seven stories high, erected formerly by Baron Stockalper, of 
Brieg, as a refuge. The village is a wretched place. Near 
the chapel, ten minutes beyond Gondo, is the Sardinian 
frontier ; five minutes below it is S. Marco, the first Italian 
village, differing, lioAvever, in no material respect from those 
which w r e have hitherto passed. At 

Iselta (inn, Post) is the custom-house and passport- 
office of the Sardinian Government. At Do\ r edro, half an 
hour lower down, the road begins to attest the A-iolence of 
the storms, which have so ruined it that the Sardinian en- 


BIUEG TO ANDEKMATT. 


289 


gineers prefer making a new one to its reparation. The 
diligences drag heavily through the sand and debris for 
about eight miles, when the road crosses a bridge and at¬ 
tains the last gallery, that of Crevola, and in forty-five 
minutes more reaches the village of that name. A two-arched 
bridge here crosses the Doveria, and brings us into the Yal 
d’Ossola, or Eschenthal. Here the traveller immediately 
recognises Italy. “ As we approached Domo d’Ossola, every 
flat roof, every chestnut-tree, and every sunburnt country¬ 
woman, proclaimed the new region which we had entered. 
The air was mild and balmy, and laden with the perfume of 
sweet-scented flowers. The white houses with their flat 
roofs glistened in the mellow radiance of the setting sun. 
Fields of maize, mulberry, and chestnut-trees, bounded the 
road on either side. The climbing vine had entwined itself 
among the very loftiest boughs of the trees, and hung from 
branch to branch in graceful festoons, which were laden 
with ripe clusters of the purple grape. From every little 
height which overhung the road on either side peaceful cot¬ 
tages looked down upon the fertile scene, and labourers 
might be seen returning to these pleasant homes, their day’s 
work being done. They carried on their heads large baskets 
filled with grass and vine-leaves, which are here used as fodder. 
Waggons drawn by long teams of mules journeyed slowly 
onwards. A priest might now and then be seen riding on 
an ass, or seated by the road- side, chatting with the country- 
people in an easy, friendly manner, which the respect mani¬ 
fested towards them by the latter fully justified. In the 
midst of all these peaceful sights and sounds the bells of 
the neighbouring churches rang forth the Ave Maria, an even¬ 
ing note of blessing whispered over the tranquil scene.” 
Such is the character of the valley till we reach Domo 
d’Ossola. 


BRIECr TO ANDERMATT. 

Distance, 58 miles. 

The road up the valley of the Rhone beyond Brieg is only 
partially practicable for chars: at present the bridle-path, 
however, like that of Leuk, in the same canton,'is in course 
of metamorphosis, and promises some day to offer a speedier 
means of traversing what must be considered the least 

u 


290 


ANDERMATT TO CHUR. 


picturesque part of this valley. As far as Yiesch, about one- 
third of the remaining length of the Rhone valley, the 
scenery is so beautiful as often to induce travellers Avho have 
no intention of traversing the rest of the valley to visit it by 
a special excursion. The villages in the Haute-Valais closely 
resemble each other,— little aggregations of wooden houses, 
old-looking, silent, and sombre. 

Leaving Brieg, with or without horses (which the host of 
the Hotel du Simplon will supply more reasonably than his 
monopolist neighbour, and which are not, as a rule, to be 
procured higher up the valley), we cross the Rhone b} r a 
wooden bridge, and make for Viesch. Naters, on the other 
side of the bridge opposite Brieg, is a village of about 500 
inhabitants, enjoying a favourable exposure and soft 
climate. Beyond it we pass through Morell and Lax, at 
each of which is a decent inn ; and a couple of miles beyond 
the latter, Viesch is reached. No place better suited than 
this for a halt will occur on this side Hospital. The inn 
(chez Neffens) is good; the Aeggishorn, a mountain com¬ 
manding a magnificent view of the Bernese and Pennine 
Alps, is at hand ; the Yiesch horns are seen behind the vil¬ 
lage, and the environs have a beauty of their own. The 
ascent of the Aeggishorn—that is to say, of the lower ridge, 
which it is not necessary to go beyond—takes about four 
hours of good climbing. Munster, a village of about 500 in¬ 
habitants, is passed, besides several others not requiring 
particular mention, and we arrive at Obergestelen. There 
is an inn here, which is comfortable in its way. Three mule- 
paths meet here—that of the Grimsel pass on our left, that of 
the Grisons on ourright, and that of the Furca directly in front. 
The source of the Rhone, which is seen to advantage as we 
begin to ascend the Furca, is about seven miles beyond Ober¬ 
gestelen. The remainder of this route, as far as Andermatt, 
has already been described in the route Grimsel by the 
Rlione-glacier (page 63). 

ANDERMATT TO CHUR. 

Distance about 64 miles, thus divided : Andermatt to 
Disentis (a guide necessary on account of the deceitfulness 
of the paths, which often border on bogs), 8 hours' walking ; 
Disentis to Ilanz, 7 hours; Ilanz to Coire, by diligence 


ANDERMATT TO CHUR. 


291 


(runs three times a-week, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 
starting at 3 p. m.), 4^- hours. There is a char road from 
Disentis to Ilanz, but so bad that walking is easier than 
riding, and scarcely takes more time. The roads are most 
indifferent all the way, and the inns the worst in Switzer¬ 
land. The money, too, is strange and peculiar; and little 
ethnological islands are met with, inhabited by a race who 
speak a Romansch language, which is neither Italian, French, 
nor Spanish, but has apparently, like them, been degraded 
in its own way from the Latin. 

Setting out from Andermatt, the traveller has to climb 
the pass of the Oberalp. At the summit of this is found a 
little lake called Toma, or the Oberalpsee: its extremities 
spread out into marshes, from which run out a few threads of 
water, the sources of the Rhine. All the way along the side 
of the lake, a distance of about two miles, the banks are 
very precipitously covered with rocks and stones, hidden by 
the scarlet blossoms of the rhododendron. The walking is 
extremely difficult and slow, and the traveller’s feet are well 
wetted by the time he has got clear of the lake. There is, 
in fact, no regular path remaining the same for two con¬ 
secutive summers. There is, doubtless, something at¬ 
tractive in the thought of seeing the sources of a noble 
river like the Rhine. The reality, however, does not cor¬ 
respond to the promise; for, after all, the sources of the 
river are merely so in a conventional sense. The streams 
which we here see belong to the branch called the Vorder, 
or anterior Rhine; besides which there are the middle and 
hinder Rhine. But the lake in which the Vorder Rhine 
issues has many feeders, mere threads of foam coming 
down from the glaciers; and the stream which flows from 
it is not the largest of the many which are seen in the 
valley of Tavetscli. It appears, indeed, that the word Rhine, 
in the lingo of the country, means watercourse, and the 
country, with its numerous valleys and streams, was called 
Rhetier; much as the country called the Punjab, in India, 
has received its name from the character of its natural 
irrigation. 

The scenery here is of a majestic character; the snowy 
summits of the Crispalt and the Balten rise on either side. 
The valley of Tavetsch stretches downwards in long windings, 
carrying the Rhine in its bosom, and losing itself in the 


292 


ANDERMATT TO CHUR. 


dark forests which stretch over the lower part of the 
inoun tains. 

Ciamut is the first parochial village in the valley of 
Tavetsch. The climate of Ciamut is more inclement than 
that of St. Petersburg. There is a kind of manufactory 
here, where rude machines are constructed for drying the 
rye and barley of the neighbouring fields. A recent French 
traveller, who has not concealed his disgust at finding our 
countrymen in all parts of Switzerland, has remarked on 
the manufacture of these apparatus :—“ Un Jack Anglais, 
ne verrait point sans quelque esprit de rivalite des paysans, 
se tenir en equilibre dans les airs sur ces appareils pour y 
travailler.” The narrow valley of Tavetsch is cultivated most 
laboriously; fields of corn may be seen growing on its sides, 
where these slope in an angle of 45 degrees. At Ruaras 
the valley enlarges, and the conditions of existence seem 
to soften. We pass by Tavetsch, which gives its name to 
the thal and the village of Mompetavetsch, and. arrive at 
Disentis, where we are in the valley of Medels. 

Disentis has an inn, the Rathliaus, with indifferent ac¬ 
commodation. 

There is at Disentis an abbey of ancient date, as to the 
institution, although the present building is not above fifty 
years old. The latter standing on an height, at the base of 
which the houses of the village are gathered, is a con¬ 
spicuous object on all sides. 

Beyond Disentis the road leads to Disle, Compadel, and 
Sumvix, to the right of which the valley of the same name 
opens. 

Trons, the village just beyond Sumvix (inn, Casa Nuova, 
very bad; but being kept by the Landamman, or head man 
of the district, one will get nothing by grumbling), is a 
place of note. The popular movements on behalf of freedom 
and independence which distinguished the history of Swit¬ 
zerland in the middle ages did not proceed from one 
common centre; the liberties of the country have rather 
resulted from a succession of independent exertions on the 
part of groups of its inhabitants. The Forest cantons were 
emancipated through the “ conspiracy ” of Grutli ; the 
Grisons, by a similar movement, concerted at Trons'. The 
specific locality, which corresponded here to the Grutli 
meadow, was a forest, nearly all the trees of which, how- 


ANDERMATT TO CHUR. 


293 


ever, have by this time found their way into the furnace 
of a French company, whose ironworks are in the neigh¬ 
bourhood. One relic, still preserved with reverential care, 
is the trunk of an aged sycamore. Under its once spread¬ 
ing branches met, in March 1424, the Abbot of Disentis, the 
Counts von Werdenberg and Sax, Baron von Rhaziins, with 
the chief of the people, and formed the Obern or Grauen 
Bund, whose object was the emancipation of the canton 
from the feudal lords who oppressed it from their now 
ruined castles. Here, as tradition relates, they lifted their 
hands, and repeated after the Abbot the oath to stand by 
one another with life, goods, and friends ; to uphold justice, 
peace, the roads, and trade ; to guarantee to noble and 
peasant, rich and poor, the enjoyment of rights and pro¬ 
perty, and never to take the law into their own hands. In 
memory of this solemn transaction the little chapel was 
built near the sycamore. Its portal is inscribed with the 
following words, in letters of gold:— 

“ IN LIBERTATEM VOCATI ESTIS. 

UBI SPIRITUS DOMINI, IBI LIBERTAS. 

IN TE SPERAVERUNT PATRES. 

SPERAVERUNT ET LIBERASTI EOS.” 

Two fresco paintings represent the scenes of the original 
oath and its renewal in 1778. 

Ober Saxen has several old ruined castles in its vicinity: 
one cannot help feeling pleased at the downfal of the pre¬ 
tended nobles, who would stoop to plunder people so poor 
as must ever be the inhabitants of this valley. 

Ilanz, a village of 600 inhabitants, is very pleasantly 
situated at a point where the Rhine is joined by the stream 
of the Gleimer, which adds pretty nearly one-third to the 
volume of its waters. The valley, too, widens, and the mean 
temperature being lower, vegetation becomes more rich. 
The Croix Blanche, close to the Rhine Bridge, is a tolerably 
good house. The landlord is said to be an honest man; it 
is tolerably certain that the genealogy of his predecessor, 
could it be traced, would prove him the true heir-at- 
law to one of the knightly robbers whose trade the Trons 
people destroyed. Now that the traveller is among the 
Grison innkeepers, let him beware of taking their small 
change; their bldtzigers and other local coins give trouble 


•204 


ANDERMATT TO CHUK. 


enough, but this is not the Avorst. If the landlord ha\ r e in 
any nook or cranny a feAv outlandish coins which do not pass 
current in the canton, he Avill he sure to palm them as 
change upon the first traveller aa*1i o is uninitiated in these 
mysteries. A brief mode of avoiding this fraud, is to have 
the bill made out in francs or florins. The Grison florin 
is composed of GO kreuzers, or 70 bliitzgers, and is equal 
to 2 zwanzigers, or 1 French fr. 74c. A French franc is 
equal to 34 Grison kreuzers. 

The village of Flims lies at the mouth of the Sernf-thal, 
up which lies the bridle-road to Glarus, by which the high 
road to Wallenstadt and the Lake of Zurich is gained. It 
is of small use to signalise the rogueries of the innkeeper 
here. The increasing frequency of English incursions has 
called into existence an honester class of landlords in one 
or two of the principal Grison towns, but, on the whole, the 
management of the inns in this canton and the treatment 
experienced by travellers are very much as Inglis described 
them twenty years ago:—“ At Ilanz I had bread, milk, and 
two eggs for supper; this Avas all the house afforded; and 
for breakfast I had bread, butter, sugar, and hot Avater to 
make tea, which I carried with me. The whole of these 
could not have been worth one franc ; and in the morning, 
when I demanded my bill, I Avas told it amounted to nine 
francs. I requested to know the particulars. Supper, three 
francs ; bed, three francs; breakfast, three francs. I told 
him the charge was absurd. He shrugged his shoulders. 
I told him it Avas at least three times what would be charged 
in England for the same accommodation. ‘ C’est possible,’ 
said he, Avith the greatest coolness ; ‘ mais nous sommes a 
present en Suisse.’ I told him I would not pay it. ‘ Hoav 
will you help it ? ’ said he ; and, in short, I purchased leave 
to go upon my journey by submitting to be robbed. I could 
mention several other instances of robbery to equal this.” 

The Adllage of Reichenau (inn, Adler) consists of com¬ 
fortable-looking houses disposed along the tAvo branches of 
the Rhine, which here form a junction. There is an aspect 
of ease and prosperity about the place Avhich arises at once 
from commercial and manufacturing activity. Reichenau, 
however, is chiefly remarkable as having been the residence 
of Louis Philippe of Orleans during his youth : during two 
years he was sheltered in the chateau of Colonel Planta, 


ANDEBMATT TO CHUB. 


295 


where a school was then kept by the Burgomaster Tarschner. 
Visitors to the chateau, now an inn, may see the chamber 
which he occupied. An inscription is placed over the door, 
which opens on the grand corridor. The first thing which 
strikes a stranger on entering is the fine view of the Grison 
Oberland, which is overlooked from the room. Two large 
portraits, the gift of the late king, hang on the walls; one 
representing him as a young usher with a round hat, and 
surrounded with books and globes; the other, as King of the 
French, old, and dressed in a general’s uniform, his hand 
resting on the Charte of 1830. A letter is also exhibited 
in a glass-case, addressed by M. Montalivet, by desire of the 
king, to the proprietor of the chateau, to accompany the 
pictures, and express the pleasure with which the old mo¬ 
narch remembered the asylum of Beichenau. There is a 
pretty garden to the chateau, from which is seen the valley 
of the Oberland, which we have been descending, that 
of Domlenby, sprinkled with old historical castles, and a 
third, down which the Rhine flows to Chur. On leaving 
Reichenau we cross the celebrated wooden-bridge, the boast 
of Swiss carpentry. It is thrown over the Rhine by one 
arch, having a span of above 200 feet, and covered with a 
roof according to the custom of the Swiss. We are now on 
the great post-road of Italy and Switzerland, leading to the 
passes of the Spliigen and the Bernardin, by the valley of 
the Hinter Rhein. Between here and Chur there is little 
to attract notice, except the dangerous position of the hamlet 
of Feldsberg, menaced hourly with destruction from the fall 
of a mountain more perpendicular than the Rossberg, which 
buried Goldau. 

Chub, the Grison capital (inns : Weisses Kreutz, Freyeck, 
Steinbach ; all exceptions to the Grison rule, the first men¬ 
tioned being the best), is a picturesque, moyen-age -looking 
old town, of between 5000 and 0000 inhabitants, compara¬ 
tively of considerable size; but not so large that ten minutes 
walking in a direct line will not carry you both in and out 
of the place. It stands in a little plain or gap, between 
mountains which surround it on three sides. Besides these 
natural defences it has a high wall and a moat, which serve 
to give it a somewhat defiant aspect, although otherwise 
decidedly supererogatory. The streets are narrow, but then 
every house has its garden, which the stranger is sure always 


290 


CHUR TO PONTE, IN THE ENGADINE, 


to see in good trim, for here no inch of ground is allowed to 
escape from a most assiduous culture. 

The limited size of Chur does not hinder it from being 
one of the most animated and stirring little places in Swit¬ 
zerland; a condition which it owes to its situation on the 
high road over the Spliigen and Bernardin passes, by which 
the manufactures of St. Gall, Glarus, and Zurich are trans¬ 
ported to Italy. About one-third of the inhabitants of Chur 
derive a livelihood by this traflic, as innkeepers, waggoners, 
porters, horse-proprietors, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, &c. 

The cathedral or church of St. Lucius, with the residence 
or palace of the bishop, occupy the most elevated part of the 
town, but are exterior to its gates. The saint to whom the 
first is dedicated has the reputation of having been a king 
in England, in the second century, whence he travelled to 
this strange corner of the world to convert the Swiss to 
Christianity. His hermitage, it is related, stood on the site 
now occupied by the church. Holy relics, consisting of a 
portion of the saint’s osseous system, are exhibited in a 
setting of gold. The building is in the round-arch style, 
and portions of it were constructed in the seventh century. 
Besides the grotesque figures which enter into its architec¬ 
tural composition, the church possesses a considerable num¬ 
ber of images and carvings, both old and new. There are 
diligences twice a-day to Zurich, and one over the Splugen 
to Milan (in June, 1852, the Federal Council gave orders 
for a second mail to traverse the distance from Chur to Milan 
every night), one to Bellinzona by the Bernardin, one to 
Lindau by Bregenz and Eeldkirch, and two to St. Gall. 

Chur, lying on the outskirts of the Grisons, can afford the 
traveller little information as to the country or the people 
who inhabit it. To appreciate these he must visit the valleys, 
especially the Engadine. 

CHUR TO PONTE, IN THE ENGADINE, 

BY THE ALBULA PASS. 

There are two routes conducting to the Engadine, or val¬ 
ley of the Upper Inn, the best and most recently constructed 
being that leading to St. Moritz by the St. Julier Pass. 
The Samaden diligence travels it every day, and performs 
the distance, about 52 miles, in fifteen or sixteen hours. 


BY THE ALBULA TASS. 


297 


The second, and older, coincides with the first as far as Lenz, 
where it deviates to the east, and is carried towards and 
over the Albnla pass, reaching Ponte, a village lower in the 
valley than St. Moritz. 

The first part of the road, as far as Lenz, lies through a 
finely-wooded and hilly country. The inn (Krone) at the 
little town of Lenz is well spoken of. Generally speaking, 
the traveller to and in the Engadine must prepare to accom¬ 
modate his wants to a very humble description of entertain¬ 
ment, only the larger towns having anything approaching to 
hotel conveniences. The inns at the smaller places are 
managed upon the calculation, not of the wants of travellers, 
their least important guests, but of those of the villagers, who 
accustom themselves to meet there when the labour of the 
day is ended, order their chopin of wine, and discourse upon 
the privileges they enjoy. The Ptomansch language is ex¬ 
clusively spoken above Lenz, even in many of the inns. In 
any case of difficulty, however, there is always some travelled 
Swiss, a ci-devant valet, or retired confectioner, who can 
bring about an understanding between the parties through 
some of the principal European tongues. From Lenz, where 
the road to Ponte leaves that of the diligence and the St. 
Julier pass, it gradually ascends to Bergun, a village with 
about 500 inhabitants. Beyond this place the ascent is 
very steep towards the Albula, one of the highest interior 
passes of Switzerland. The road is practicable for small 
carts, mounts by the side of a torrent, and soon enters a 
narrow gorge, which affords room only for the stream and 
the passage, which has been cut out of the towering rock. 
On the other side of the rock we enter a tolerably extensive 
Alpine valley, about three miles in length, and the path 
ascends a narrow defile among the naked rocks which sur¬ 
round the little lake of Wissenstein. “ The ascent is labo¬ 
rious, but the scenery around amply compensates the labour. 
Five girdles of dark fir span the waists of the rocks, whose 
grey and rugged heads rise in vast amphitheatre. Below 
the firs, and among the lower rocks, lies the freshest verdure, 
watered by innumerable rills that are seen higher up in 
white threads of foam among the rocks. Here and there is 
a chalet, here and there a little flock, but these become rarer 
as you proceed. The path surmounts the fir, and at a sudden 
turn reaches the little lake and the chalet, where the traveller 


298 CHUR TO PONTE, IN THE ENGADINE. 

may find mountain fare. A few stunted firs are scattered 
about the lower end, where the water is shallow; hut on all 
the other sides it lies still, and dark, and treeless, beneath 
the precipices that tower above.” 

The ascent from this point is extremely steep, and in 
about an hour’s walking the lake itself is shut out from view. 
A defile of the most desolate character, called Triimmer- 
thal, or the Valley of Ruins, is now entered. It is about 
four miles in length, and from one to two broad, and en¬ 
vironed by high mountain summits, which rise almost per¬ 
pendicularly from the defile in some places, exposing pre¬ 
cipices of two or three thousand feet; in others displaying 
enormous gaps and caves. Above these the highest peaks, 
powdered with snow, but too steep to afford it a resting- 
place, jut into the sky. The whole extent of the defile is 
made up of heaps of enormous stones, that lie piled on each 
other, in some places to the height of some hundred feet. 
Not one mountain plant or Alpine flower is seen throughout 
the whole range of this defile. All is treeless, herbless, life¬ 
less. Beyond its extremity the valley drops its desolate cha¬ 
racter, and herbage and mosses, the ranunculus, the 
mountain anemone, and rhododendron, are met with. The 
summit of the Albula pass, indicated, as are the summits 
of most Swiss passes, by a small cross, is just under 7000 
feet above the sea level. It is generally covered with green, 
and occasionally difficult to pass. The two peaks of the 
Albula mountain, one 1700 the other 800 feet, are seen above 
the highest point of the road. The path is tolerably level for 
about three quarters of an hour, and then descends through 
the rich sloping pastures of Mount Albula, which in summer 
are covered with sheep and cattle. Here we are at once 
among some of the best dairies of Switzerland. The 
shepherds of Mont Albula are civil, and sufficiently intel¬ 
ligent ; the stranger desirous of familiarising himself with 
the mysteries of Alpine dairies will find them communica¬ 
tive, in the not unreasonable hope of receiving some gratuity 
at the close of their elucidations. The outer part of the 
mountain chalet affords accommodation for the cattle ; the 
inner part has two rooms, one where the milk is kept, 
another where the cheese is made; over these is a loft, 
where the people employed about the cattle and dairy sleep. 
There is generally one man to fifty cows. Their wages are 


THE ENGADINE. 


299 


about 30s. a month, with a dietary of salted meat, bread, 
cheese, butter, and milk ad libitum. 

The descent into the Engadine is less by at least 2000 
feet than the ascent from Bergem, as the village of Ponte is 
nearly 5000 feet above the sea level. 

THE ENGADINE. 

The Engadine has a remarkable position in the chain of 
the Alps, and the manner in which it is enclosed deserves 
especial notice. It is well known that the culminating points 
of the chain are found between Mont Blanc and the St. 
Gothard inclusively, and that the peaks of the Grison Ober- 
land have a less gigantic elevation. But, on the other hand, 
it seems to be in this last part of Switzerland that the ge¬ 
neral surface of the soil has been raised by the strongest 
forces from the bottom of the valley; these are so high as 
to surpass in elevation many considerable mountains of 
other European countries. If on a good Keller’s map we 
draw a line from the pass of the Stelvio, or from Mont 
Orteles, which is close to it, to the Jungfrau, a distance of 
about 120 miles, this will represent the axis of elevation of 
the Alps in their most massive portion ; for it will be easy to 
mark transversely to this line, on all its extent, distances 
more or less remote where the surface of the soil has an 
elevation of above 4340 feet at the least above the sea level. 
A line connecting the extreme points of these distances will 
mark out an irregular figure, enclosing a space composed of 
two sides of the Alps and several valleys, which may be con¬ 
sidered the most compact and elevated mass of European 
soil, and everywhere exceeding the limit of 340 feet. The 
breadth of this mass varies considerably, being smaller in 
the western and larger in the eastern portions. The me¬ 
ridian of Silvaplana, which intersects the Ober or Upper 
Engadine and its lakes, and runs through the summits of 
the Bernina, marks the greatest breadth of this elevated 
part of the country. The Upper Engadine is the most open 
of all the districts lying on this raised surface and but for 
its cruciform intersections would be a Swiss plateau. These 
intersections are formed by the Inn, the Mera, which flows in 
a contrary direction, the valley leading to Mont Julier, and 
finally that of Poscliiavo, cut at the base of the massive 


300 


THE ENGADINE. 


Bernina. The line from the Stelvio to the Jungfrau is so 
certainly the central line of the elevation of the general 
surface, that, having traced it on the map, we find that the 
most important passes of the central Alps, the Grimsel, 
Furca, St. Gothard, and Lukmanier, are exactty over it; 
while on the south and north, at the distance of one or 
two leagues, are the Bernardin, Spliigen, Septimer, Julier, 
Albula, and Bernina. 

This elevation of the general soil combines with the lesser 
heights of the mountain summits to give a very low relative 
elevation to the peaks of the Grison. This will be made 
more apparent from the subjoined comparative table:— 


Western Alps. 


Mont Blanc 

14,760 Fr. feet. 

(Keller.) 

Priory of Chamonix . 

3,190 

59 

59 

Relative elevation . 

11,570 

55 


Bernese Oberland. 



Jungfrau . 

12,870 

55 

(Keller.) 

Village of Lauterbrunnen . 

2,450 

9J 

59 

Relative elevation . 

10,420 

55 


Valais. 



Monte Rosa 

14,220 

59 

55 

Village of Zermatt . 

4,190 

>9 

95 

Relative elevation . 

10,030 

99 


Alps of 

the Grisons. 


The Adula, source of the 




Hinter Rhine 

10,280 Fr. feet. 

(Roder.) 

Village of Hinter Rhine (in 



the valley leading to the 
Spliigen and the Ber¬ 
nardin) .... 

4,800 

95 

19 

Relative elevation . 

The Toedi, in the Grison 

5,480 

99 


Oberland 

12,000 

59 


Village of Disentis . 

3,648 

95 

55 

Relative elevation . 

8,352 

99 








THE ENGADINE. 


301 


Piz-Doan and Mont Sep- 

timer, over . . . 9,000 Fr. feet. (Roder.) 

Village of Joff, in the Val 

d’A vers. . . . 6,730 „ 


Relative elevation . . 2,270 

The Bernina: Mortiratch . 12,476 
Village of Samaden . . 5,441 


Relative elevation . . 7,035 

Piz-Linard . . . 10,580 

Village of Klosters (in the 

valley of the Lanclquart) 3,700 


(Federal Triang.) 


(Roder.) 




Relative elevation . . 6,880 


It follows that the highest summits in the Grisons have 
an altitude which averages less by 2000 feet than that of 
the Western Alps, while the valleys have an elevation 
whose superiority is represented by the same figure. Each 
of these mountainous districts has its peculiar aspect of 
majesty. In Savoy, the Valais, and Berne, it is the enor¬ 
mous relative height which strikes the eye; on the Grisons 
it is the stupendous masses and the indescribable inter¬ 
lacing of the mountains, whose crests are always and in 
every direction brilliant with snow. 

The entire valley of the Upper Inn, which forms the two 
Engadines, is about sixty miles in length. It is thickly 
sprinkled with villages of considerable extent, a fact which 
is very remarkable when its severe climate and comparative 
unproductiveness consequent upon its great elevation are 
considered. All that industry, impelled by extreme love 
of gain, could do for a country, has been done for this : the 
soil is incapable of a greater cultivation than it has received, 
but winter reigns during nine months of the year; summer, 
which begins only in June, is over early in September, and 
even during its continuance the diligently-cultivated fields 
are often laid waste by storms of hail or resistless torrents 
which sweep down from the mountains. The richest harvests 
return only a poor crop of rye and barley to the farmers ; 
nevertheless this is one of the richest districts in all 
Switzerland. The reason is to he found in two customs 





,‘302 


THE ENGADINE. 


prevalent among the Grison people—one of emigrating to 
richer countries in youth, another of returning to their 
native land with fortunes made by industry. A certain habit 
of reflection teaches the young peasants of the Engadine to 
look with horror on a state of dependence, and as no division 
of property could enable the valley to support all who are 
born there,-one or two of the sons of every numerous family 
leave their home at about the age of 18, and direct their 
steps to Paris, Marseilles, Lyons, or Bordeaux. Here one of 
them will pay a fee to the master of some well-accustomed 
restaurant, or cafe, to be taken as a gargon; industry and 
civility recommend him to masters and customers, and his 
saving habits soon produce a little store, which enables him 
to turn to account the knowledge of pastry-making in¬ 
nate among the Grison people, and he opens a confec¬ 
tioner’s shop. A few years of activity enable him to return 
to his native valley, with money sufficient to set him up 
as a travelling merchant between his own country and the 
foreign towns wherever his connexion mav lie. After a 
few years thus employed, the merchant retires, and thus 
is kept up the race of small millionaires who are constantly 
encountered in the Engadine. Mr. Inglis found at Bergam 
two individuals who had, one 1500/. and another a some¬ 
what smaller amount, invested in the British funds ; and at 
Suss, two peasants, who possessed each as much as 20,000/. 
sterling. The houses in the Engadine are remarkable for 
their great size in every dimension but that of height. Many 
have most curiously-decorated exteriors. The door, or gate, 
has its painted pillars, some Doric, some Corinthian, with 
their shafts and capitals. The gateway is spanned by a 
large arch, generally ornamented with ambitious-looking 
designs. The windows, too, have their pillars surmounted 
by a Greek pediment. Upon some part of the Avail, gene¬ 
rally over the gate, an inscription is found, either in Ro- 
rnansch or Latin, setting forth the date and builder of the 
house, or recommending it to the protection of God. 

Samaden the largest village in the Haute Engadine, lies 
above Pont, and has a daily communication with Chur by 
diligence. The Bernina pass, leading into the valley of the 
Vateline, is reached by a bridle-path, practicable for some 
distance, and with difficulty, for chars. Above Samaden are 
St. Moritz, Silvaplana, and several smaller villages. 


CHUR TO SPLUGEN. 


303 


Zuz is a village of about GOO inhabitants. Scanf, Capella, 
and Brail, follow on the line of road; and at Pantanta 
we enter upon the Lower Engadine. Below this point 
the Inn flows in a deeper channel; the mountains have the 
appearance of being higher, and have their sides clothed 
with wood. 

At Zernetz, or Cernetz (inns, Poste and Lion d’Or), the 
Inn receives the waters of the Spal. The road from here leads 
to Suss, one of the largest of the Engadine villages; the valley 
is very narrow, leaving room only for the river and the road. 
The road, which traverses the valley of the Lower Engadine, 
is generally rendered extremely circuitous by the nature of 
the country. The wide and deep beds of the torrents which 
desolate the valley in winter, reach some thousand feet up 
the mountain sides, so that to construct even the worst road 
it is necessary to carry it to an extreme height above the 
river, otherwise the torrent-beds would be impassable. 

Tarasp has a mineral spring and several inns. Schuols has 
a population of 1200. The valley assumes its most pleasing 
appearance below this place. The river flows at the bottom 
of a deep, rocky gorge, sprinkled with fir and mountain-ash. 
The rocks rise as it were out of the water to the height of 
three or four hundred feet, and generally support a plat¬ 
form covered with stones and shrubs. Above this a 
range of rocks rise perpendicularly to the height of 1500 or 
2000 feet. Here and there are patches of rye and barley, 
interspersed with bits of grass for grazing a few cows or 
goats. The road runs along the top of the second range of 
rocks, and here also is the peopled and cultivated part of the 
valley. 

At Martinsbruck, the lowest village of the valley, 3250 feet 
above the sea-level, the path leaves the Inn, which here enters 
the Austrian Tyrol by the pass of the Finstermunz. The 
Imperial arms are seen on the Custom-house close by. 

The return to Chur can only be made by the routes already 
described. 


CHUB TO SPLUGEN. 

The pass of the Spliigen, constructed by the Austrians, 
to connect the capital of Lombardy with Switzerland and 
South Germany, is now traversed twice a-day (in July, Au- 


304 


CHUR TO SPLUGEN. 


t 

gust, September, and October ; the rest of the year only 
once) by the malle-poste from Chur to Milan. The distance 
from Chur to Colico, where the steamer from Como meets 
the diligence, is above 76 English miles. 

The Via Mala, a section of the Spliigen pass, about five 
miles in length, and eleven from Chur, is annually the object 
of a special excursion to many travellers. Those who pro¬ 
pose to pass on and enter Italy by the Spliigen or Ber- 
nardin, must be provided with the signature of an Austrian 
minister on their passports. This regulation is imperative. 
As far as Keichenau the road is that by which we arrive at 
Chur from Ilanz. (See page 295.) 

At Keichenau we cross the two branches of the Rhine by 
the pretty wooden bridge, and ascend the Hinter Rhine by 
its left bank. The road to Thusis, 11 miles beyond Rei- 
chenau, is extremely hilly. The opposite bank is occupied 
by a range of mountains, which approach so nearly to that 
over which our road is carried as to give the valley a ravine¬ 
like character. This section of the route is more thickly 
sprinkled with the ruins of feudal castles than any other part 
of Switzerland. The current traditions of this locality have 
none of that poetical sentiment which is found as we descend 
to the German banks of the Rhine, but invariably surround 
the feudalists with a character of odious and brutal tyranny. 
The castles generally surmount the hills in picturesque 
boldness, apparently inaccessible and impregnable, but are 
so storm-beaten, old, and moss-grown, that they can scarcely 
be distinguished from the rocks on which they are built. 

Thusis (inn, Aigle d’Or), a village of about 700 in¬ 
habitants, is situated against the jaws of a wild defile on 
the terrace of the Heinzenberg, from which you enjoy down 
the open valley the loveliest variety of prospect in river, 
plain, mountain, castle, and hamlet. This thriving little 
town was destroyed by a conflagration in 1845. The houses 
are being rebuilt a little below the site of the former village, 
and are of superior construction. At the end of the village 
a handsome stone bridge crosses the Nolla, an impetuous 
torrent, which here joins the Rhine. Crossing the bridge the 
traveller has a good view of the Nollathal, bounded by the 
peaks of the lofty Piz Beveren. 

The country between Reichenau and Thusis is covered 
with stones or pools, the work of the unruly Rolla, which 


CHUR TO SPLUGEN. 


3 Go 


has hitherto set at defiance all the attempts made to con¬ 
tain it in a regular channel, and seems to be waiting some 
Escher Yon dor Linth to set bounds to its ruinous extra¬ 
vagances. The bridge crossed, we come at once to the 
entrance of the Via Mala, one of the most fearfully mag¬ 
nificent gorges in Switzerland. The immense mountain 
ridge, which seemed to block up the valley, is now seen rent 
from base to summit, and we enter the gap, which is the 
outlet of the Rhine. The cliffs on each side of us rise to a 
perilous height, and become more vertical and draw nearer 
together as we advance. The road is notched out of the sides 
of the rock by the hand of man, and brings us at about a mile 
from Thusis to a point called Das Verlorenes Loch, the Lost 
Hole. Here a projecting spur of the mountain formerly 
most completely blocked up the valley, so that to reach the 
other side it was necessary to make a painful circuit of many 
miles. After some hundreds of years, Poeobelli, an Italian 
engineer, undertook to cut through the overhanging moun¬ 
tain, and formed the present tunnel. The gallery is not 
extensive, being a little more than 200 feet long, 18 feet 
wide, and 14 feet high. The view from this tunnel, looking 
back through the gap by which we entered, includes a 
pleasing view of the hills beyond Thusis, and the ruins of the 
large old castle of Rliealt, said to have been built by a 
Tuscan chief centuries before Christ. Beyoud the tunnel 
the ravine continues narrow, and the road is in part notched 
out of the cliff. Presently the rocks on the right hand re¬ 
cede, and losing their perpendicular position, form sloping 
surfaces, which are covered with green fields and the cottages 
of Rongellen. Beyond this village the rocks over the valley 
approach and spring perpendicularly to a dizzy height. The 
road is carried in their sides far above the stream which here 
is thrice crossed by bridges to evade the obstructions offered 
by the form of the rock. “ The four or five miles of the 
Spldgen Pass, which are called the Via Mala, constitute one 
continued, tortuous, black, jagged chasm, split through the 
stupendous mountain-ridge from the summit to the base, in 
perpendicular, angular, and convoluted zigzag rifts, so nar¬ 
row in some places that you could almost leap across, yet so 
deep that the thunder of the Rhine dies upon the ear in strug¬ 
gling and reverberating echoes upwards. Sixteen hundred 
feet at least the precipices in some places rise perpendicular 

x 


30C 


CHUR TO SPLUGEN. 


to heaven, so serrated and torn, the one side from the other, 
that if the same Power that rent them should spring them 
together, they would shut as closely as a portcullis in its 
sockets, as a tomb upon its lid. Down in the depths of this 
fearful fissure thunders the mad river, sometimes lost from 
sight and scarcely audible in its muffled, subterranean, 
booming sound, sometimes desperately plunging, sometimes 
wildly, swiftly, flashing in white foam, sometimes whirling 
like a maelstroom. You enter upon this savage pass from 
the sunlit vale of Domsclileg, under the old Etruscan castle 
of Kealt, spiked in the cliff like a war-club, four hundred feet 
above you, and totally inaccessible on every side but one. 
Passing this from Tliusis, you are plunged at once into a 
scene of the deepest sublimity. The road is with great 
daring carried along the perpendicular face of crags, being 
cut from the rock where no living thing could have scaled the 
mountain, and sometimes it completely overhangs the abyss, 
a thousand feet above the raging torrent. Now it pierces 
the rock, now it runs zigzag, now spans the gorge on a light 
dizzy bridge ; now the mountains frown on each other like 
tropical thunder-clouds about to meet and discharge their 
artillery, and now you come upon mighty insulated crags, 
thrown wildly together, covered with fringes of moss and 
shrubbery, and constituting vast masses of verdure. Leaning 
over the parapet, we amused ourselves by dropping stones 
in the roaring torrent below, and computing by our watches 
the time they took to reach the water, endeavoured to guess 
at the depth of the chasm. It was dizzy to look at it. The 
tall black fir forest on the mountain shelves, and the blasted 
pines on inaccessible peaks, seemed to gaze gravely at us, as 
if we had come unauthorised into a sanctuary of nature too 
deep and awful to be trodden by the foot of man. 

“ Just after the entrance from Thusis the mountain is 
pierced by the first gallery, and beyond this Pocobelli has 
blasted a groove for a thousand feet farther, under the rocky 
canopy, where your carriage passes as on a shelf, with the 
tremendous gulf beneath you at your left. Now and then 
the precipices on one side actually hang beetling over the 
road on the other, and looking up to heaven, it is as if you 
gazed out from the keep of a dungeon. 

“ Looking up the. pass from below the second biidge, per¬ 
haps the view is finer than in any other part. The bridge 


CHUR TO SPLUGEN. 


307 

itself, with the appalling depth spanned by it, adds to the 
sublimity. You gain this bridge by a gallery in an over¬ 
hanging projection of the mountain, and then cross to the 
other side, looking down and up, as in the central position 
of the gorge. Owing to the recent heavy rain while we were 
at Ragatz, the river was now higher than usual, and from 
the beetling precipices above us the white streams, new 
born, were leaping like jets of foam. We passed a most 
singular and daring, but very simple air-bridge, that hung 
above us for the purpose of getting the timber from one 
side of the gulf, where almost perpendicularly it clothes the 
mountain, over to the road on the other. A range of cables 
was suspended from the trunks of enormous pines, some 
hundreds of feet above the road, and being fastened securely 
on the other side of the gulf, the timber being cut and 
trimmed for the purpose, was thus swung high in its cradle 
of air to the place of landing for transportation.” 

Between the second and third bridges, the ravine loses 
all its savage grandeur, and opens into that of Schams, 
which has nothing about it very remarkable. 

Andeer (inns: H. des Bains, and Poste; first, best) is 
a village of about 400 inhabitants. To the left of the road 
on quitting the village is seen the castle of Barenburg, the 
first that was taken in that memorable insurrection of the 
peasants against petty nobility, which gave freedom to the 
Grisons. Just beyond it the Aversa, which comes down the 
Yal de Ferrera, from the glaciers of the Septimer and Moricz, 
joins the Khine. The road now winds considerably, and 
ascends the ravine of the Rofla. The mountains are well 
wooded, and numerous streams run down their sides. Presently 
the road crosses the Rhine, and at once reaches the village 
of Spliigen or Spliiga, which gives its name to the whole 
pass. The inn called Bodenham is well spoken of. Up to 
this point the route has been common to the Spldgen and 
Bernardin passes : beyond this village the road divides that 
of the Bernardin, being continued in the westerly direction 
as far as the village of Hinterrhein, where first it turns 
southward, while the pass of the Spliigen is carried directly 
southward from the village of Spliigen. 

The pass of the Spliigen, rising more than 2000 feet above 
the village of Spliigen, and 6814 above the sea, brings the 
traveller out at Chiavenna and the Lake of Como. That of 


308 


CHUR TO SPLUGEN. 


the Bemardin, rising 7115 feet above the sea, and about 2400 
above Spliigen, opens upon Bellinzona and the Lakes of 
Maggiore and Lugano. 

We cross the Rhine bridge, leave the river, take the 
Spliigen road, and following it through 4f miles of laborious 
ascent, come to the narrow mountain ridge, which traces the 
boundary line between Switzerland and Lombardy. The 
steepest ascent is effected by a great number of zigzags, so 
gradual, that they turn almost parallel on one another. The 
vigorous pedestrian will do well to scale across them, as one 
might cut a coil of rope across the centre, instead of running 
round ; thus climbing from crag to crag he may see vehicles 
toiling slowly along far below him. 

On this, the Swiss side of the summit, the original road 
has been swept away by a tempest. The Orison government 
has repaired the disaster, and a new and safer road, to be 
carried through a gallery above the zigzags, is in course of 
construction. The summit of the highest ridge of the pass 
being gained, there is no level space, but the road imme¬ 
diately begins to descend. The Austrian customs and pass¬ 
port offices and guardhouses give the traveller a reception 
very different to that met with on the Grand St. Bernard, 
being as bleak as the ice-breeze itself. The scene is desolate 
in its every aspect. We now enter Italy, but as yet the 
features of the native are severe and savage. The road to 
Chiavenna is for several miles carried through a series of 
galleries of solid masonry, longer than those of the Simplon 
or any other Alpine pass. The avalanches, which fall more 
frequently among the passes of the Rliaetian Alps than in 
any other part of Switzerland, justify these costly works. 
They have sometimes fallen like a thunderbolt, and swept 
away one traveller, leaving another in safety by his side. 
The mail carriers have seen their horses shot into the abyss, 
not indeed from under them, but when they had dismounted 
for an instant. It seems to be a pass shrouded in more 
absolute terrors than any in Switzerland. The old road 
from the Spliigen summit passed through the terrific gorge 
of the Cardinill, where Macdonald in 1801 waged a five-days’ 
war with the elements on his way to Marengo. The can¬ 
nonade of avalanches cost him above 100 men, besides as 
many horses. The only wonder is, that whole regiments 
were not buried at once. One of the drummers of the army, 


COIRE TO CONSTANCE, BY RAGATZ, RHEINECH, ETC. 309 

having been shot in a snow-hank from the avalanche into 
the frightful gulf, and having struggled forth alive, but out 
of sight and reach of his comrades, was heard beating his 
drum for hours in the abyss, vainly expecting rescue. 

The road rapidly descends, and at Chiavenna we recognise 
the sky, the sun, the river, the people, of Italy. Below 
this, the highway leads to Colico, where the steamer waits to 
carry further southwards. (See Bogue’s “ Northern Italy.”) 

COIRE TO CONSTANCE BY KAGATZ, RHEINECH, 
RORSCHACH, AND THE BATHS OF PFEFFERS. 

The entire distance from Coire to Constance is 62 miles. 
Diligences run twice a-day in twelve hours to Rorschach, 
where the journey may be completed by the steamer, which 
performs the remaining distance in three hours. 

The old baths of Pfeffers do not lie in the direct road to 
Constance, but are situated in the gorge of the Tamina 
(pronounced Tameena), 2£ miles from Ragatz. They should 
on no account be overlooked by the traveller in search of 
the characteristic sites of Switzerland. 

A footpath leads from Reichenau over the pass called La 
Foppaam Kunvels right down the valley of the Tamina, a 
distance of 24 miles. The traveller may also leave the dili¬ 
gence road at the Neuere Zollbriicko, 2§ miles on this side 
Ragatz, whence a path of about 7 miles leads to the convent 
of Pfeffers, a mile from the baths. Time and walking, how¬ 
ever, are best saved by proceeding to Ragatz, and thence 
ascending the Tamina gorge. 

The main road, as far as the Neuere Zollbriicke, about 
5 miles on this side Ragatz, is carried along the right bank 
of the Rhine. The bridge forms the communication between 
the cantons of the Gilsons and St. Gall. As yet the Rhine 
is a prosaic stream; its channel being ill defined, and its 
wide bed strewn with stones and sand. The valley, however, 
has an aspect of beauty and grandeur, having cultivated 
grounds of considerable extent, and being bounded on both 
sides by lofty mountains, the great Kalanda range running 
along the left bank. About 4 miles on this side Ragatz, the 
road crosses the Landquart, a large and rapid stream, which 
comes down from the east, and after a lengthened course 


310 COIRE TO CONSTANCE, BY RAGATZ, RHEINECH, 

through the Pratigau joins the Rhine. The Neuere Zoll- 
briicke, a mile below the Landquart bridge, is a fine wooden 
bridge lately thrown over the Rhine. 

Ragatz, a village of about 600 inhabitants, has two inns ; 
one small and cheap—the Post, or Tamina Hotel; and an¬ 
other large and rather dear, called Hof Ragatz, formerly the 
Statthalterei, or Abbot’s residence of the convent of Pfeifers; 
but, in 1840, partially rebuilt and fitted up as an inn and 
bathing-house. This hotel, which is the property of the 
canton of St. Gall, is capable of accommodating more than 
a hundred visitors. The master speaks English very well. 
The baths are cleaner, and have a neater appearance, than 
the old baths of Pfeffers; but, like the new, are very dull, 
and not at all calculated, one would think, for nervous or 
otherwise susceptible patients. The water is clear, but 
being conveyed from the spring which supplies the old baths 
by miles of wooden tubing, is of lower temperature than 
at the older establishment. 

The Old Baths of Pfeffers lie about miles up the 
gorge of the Tamina—a second Yia Mala. The new road 
thither, cut in 1839 out of the living rock, is good, and not 
over steep. Crossing the bridge of the Tamina at the en¬ 
trance of the valley, we ascend the left bank. The road 
follows the course of the river without rising greatly, like 
that of the Yia Mala, above the level of the torrent, which 
thunders and foams close to the traveller’s path, over large 
blocks of stone, or down a bed of great inclination. The 
house of the baths occupies the extreme point of the ravine, 
which is a cul dejac, there being beyond it merely a rent or 
chasm in the rock. The house itself is a gloomy antiquated 
building, capable of receiving a great number of patients, 
and dating from the year 1701. The Trinksaal, or pump- 
room, is on the basement floor, and looks rather like a vast 
cellar than one of the gay baths of the Nassau-Brunnen. 
The baths are in long galleries, on a shelf of rock just above 
the Tamina, and, as may well be supposed, extremely dark. 
Some are single, others double; and some, for the use of 
the poor, are made to contain six or seven persons at once. 
It is difficult to imagine any state of the body for which a 
residence at the old baths of Pfefiers could possibly be bene¬ 
ficial. The rocks, which form the ravine at its extremity, 
besides rising so high as to shut out the cheering influences 


RORSCHACH, AND THE BATHS OF PFEFFERS. Oil 

of sun and light, are so closely approximated as to leave no 
room for exercise; the air is preserved from stagnation only 
by the cold draught of the torrent, while the spray and ex¬ 
halations of the latter keep every object constantly damp. 
The water has a temperature of 98f degrees Fahrenheit; it 
is clear, and almost tasteless, having indeed a very small 
mineral or saline impregnation, its chief ingredient being 
carbonate of lime. 

The chasm of the Tamina, on which is the Source of the 
Hot Spring, can only be reached through the house. Twenty- 
four kreuzers are charged for admission to view it. The 
traveller is conducted through the basement story of the 
building, and brought out upon the roaring torrent. Having 
crossed this by a wet, shaking, crazy, old plank-bridge, he 
enters the fissure of the rock on a wooden gangway, hung 
up on iron bolts driven into the perfectly perpendicular sides 
of the cavern. 

“ The cavern of the Baths of Pfeffers is a gorge and 
cavern combined, a remarkable split in the mountain, deep, 
dark, ragged, and savage, the sides of which cross their 
jagged points far above you, so closely, like the teeth of a 
saw, that only here and there you can see the daylight at 
the top, and the sky through the rift, with the trees of the 
external world peeping down upon you. As far below a 
torrent is thundering, and you creep, hanging midway to 
the dripping shelves of the cliff 1 , along a suspended footpath, 
a couple of planks wide, a good eighth of a mile, into the 
heart of the great fissure. There, in a crypt in the deep 
rock, lies the hot fountain, where a cloud of steam rises 
round you like a vapour-bath, and the gush of hot water 
pours its cascade into the roaring cold torrent below.” 

The Tamina is about 50 feet below the gangway, and 
dashes yet more furiously in the cavern than in the more 
open gorge. The gallery terminates above the hot spring, 
but extends much beyond it. The water is brought into 
the baths by a wooden tube which is attached to the gang¬ 
way, from the largest of the three springs which issue from 
the rock, on the right of the Tamina. 

It is related that the springs were discovered about the 
year 1000 by a boy seeking birds’ nests ; or, according to 
old Sebastian Munster, by a hunter seeking game. They 


312 COIRE TO CONSTANCE, BY RAGATZ, RHEINECH, 

were not used, however, medicinally, until 200 years after¬ 
wards ; and at first patients used to be let down by ropes 
from the cliffs into the very fountain, to be steeped there for 
hours, and drawn up again. The next progressive step in 
comfort was a number of cells like magpies’ nests, pinned to 
the walls around the fountain, where patients might abide 
the season. In the next age men’s ideas in therapeutics 
were so advanced, that they conducted the hot medicinal 
water by conduits out of the gorge, and built the grisly bath¬ 
houses at the entrance; and still later they have come to 
the perfection of the system, by conveying the water down 
to the comfortable inn at Ragatz. 

The old abbey of Pfeffers, in the village of the same 
name, should be visited, were it but for the walk thither. 
The path lies up the left side of the ravine, but at a level 
high above the river, and through a dense wood. While 
climbing this side of the mountain, the traveller looks down 
upon the top of the rock which overhangs the true gorge of 
the Tamina, and here screens it from sight. The path soon 
turns, leads down the hill and across the Tamina with its 
horrid chasm, by a natural bridge of grass-covered rock. 
The opposite side of the ravine is ascended for nearly a mile 
by stairs partly constructed with trunks cf trees, and partly 
hewn in the living rock. On gaining the ridge of the moun¬ 
tain we come to a char-road, which brings us to Pfeffers, 
and thence by an easy descent to Ragatz. 

The Benedictine Abbey of Pfeifers was founded in 713. 
In the middle ages the revenues of the foundations were es¬ 
timated at 216,000 Swiss francs, and the abbot had princely 
rank and title. In 1838 internal discords, and revenues im¬ 
paired by the French, induced the brethren to petition for 
the dissolution of the monastery. The request was granted. 
The conventual edifice, the Hof Ragatz, and the old baths, 
became public property, and were immediately improved and 
turned to profit, while the brethren received annuities for 
life. From the village of Pfeffers the char-road leads by an 
easy ascent to Ragatz. Here the traveller should make ar¬ 
rangements forgetting straight to Constance, as the sleeping 
places on the road are of the worst description. 

Sarganz (inns : Hirsch, good; Ivreutz, and Lowe) is built 
on the top of a gentle height which divides the valley of the 


RORSCHACH, AND THE BATHS OF PFEFFERS. 313 

Rhine from that of the Secz. A curious old castle sur¬ 
mounts the town. Here a road leads from the valley of the 
Rhine to Zurich by the lakes of Wallenstadt and Zurich. 

The villages on the remainder of our route have , little to 
distinguish them individually : each of them is in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of some castle ruin, with which a legend, gene¬ 
rally turning upon some deed of blood, is connected. 

Sevelen (inn, Traube), a picturesque village built between 
hills and a rock, is commanded by the old burg ofWartan. 
Werdenberg, four miles beyond, has a castle on its height, 
which was the seat of a family whose names frequently occur 
in the Swiss history of the middle ages. 

SennwaJjD (inn, Post) lies at the foot of the Ivamor. Just 
before reaching it the road passes an abruptly-projecting 
rock, called die Kanzel, or the Pulpit. The Kamor is above 
5300 feet high, and commands a fine view, which, however, 
is surpassed by that from the Hohenkasten, a mile distant 
from it, and 100 feet higher. From the summit the eye 
ranges over the Lake of Constance and away to Swabia, the 
valley of the Rhine, the three ranges of Appenzell, the Vor- 
arlberg, and the Bandner Alps. In the tower of the church 
at Sennwald there is a coffin with a glass lid, in which is ex¬ 
hibited the body of one of the lords of Hohensorx, who, 
having fled from Paris at the Bartholomew massacre, fell by 
the hand of his brother’s son. 

Altstetten (inns : Drei Konige, or Post; Krone, and 
Rabe : neither to be commended) is a town of 6500 inha¬ 
bitants. 

Rheineck (inns: Hecht, or Post; Krone), a village of 1400 
inhabitants, on the Rhine, about four miles from the Lake of 
Constance. At Alt the road reaches the margin of the lake 
and skirts it for about four miles, bringing us to 

Rorschach (inns : Krone, or Post; Griiner Baum, and 
Ander). The town, although small, is a place of some im¬ 
portance, as the haven which receives the grain of Swabia, 
imported in considerable quantities for Swiss consumption. 
On Tuesdays and Saturdays its corn-market presents an 
animating scene to the eye of the traveller who has become 
accustomed to the quiet of the interior. 

The steamers make the journey between Constance and 
Rorschach in three hours. Their hours of starting are 
changed so frequently, that only information obtained as re- 


314 


CONSTANCE TO SCHAFFHAUSEN. 


quired can be useful. In 1851 eight steamers were plying 
on the lake, and in 1852 orders were given to increase the 
number by two others. The fare to Constance is 1 fl. 42 kr. 

The Lake of Constance is, with the exception of the 
Leman, the only frontier lake of Switzerland, and performs 
for the Rhine the same process of filtration which the south¬ 
ern lake effects for the Rhone. It is smaller in superficial 
extent than that of Geneva, hut exceeds it in the depth and 
volume of water, being 44 miles from Bregenz to its extreme 
north-western prolongation at Ueberlingen, and 30 from 
Bregenz to Constance. Its present width, taken between 
the embouchure of the Aacli on the north and Wiedehorn on 
the southern shore, is about 9 miles. Its coasts border five 
sovereign European states, whose territories lie in the fol¬ 
lowing order, starting on the right bank of the Rhine at its 
embouchure; viz. Austria, Bavaria, Wirtemberg and Baden, 
and Switzerland, which possesses the whole southern coast. 
Numerous streams augment the body of water poured in at 
the Rhine, and contribute in their measure to fill up the 
basin of the lake. The Lake of Constance has no pictur¬ 
esque charms to place in competition with those of Geneva or 
Lucerne : its banks are flat, or, at most, slightly undulating, 
and, except at the eastern extremity, where the mountains 
of the Vorarlberg come in view, is devoid of any peculiarly 
Swiss features. 

Diligences pass through Rorschach to St. Gall (a three- 
hours’journey) three times a-day; and as often to Constance. 

CONSTANCE TO SCHAFFHAUSEN. 

Constance (inns: Hecht, Adler, Badischen Hof, and 
Hotel de Lille). The latter is not included, like the city and 
the other inns, within the Baden frontier, and being thus ex¬ 
terior to the Zollverein or German customs union, its guests 
escape the usual searching. The old city of Constance, 
which once numbered 40,000, but now'has only 5300 inha¬ 
bitants, lies on the north-west end of the lake, where the 
Rhine recommences its journey within its own banks. For 
four hundred years subject to Austria, and the seat of an epi¬ 
scopal see, which w'as held in succession by 84 prelates, was 
snatched from its emperor and bishop in 1802, and three 
years later ceded to Baden by the peace of Pressburg—an ar- 


CONSTANCE TO SC'HAFFHAUSEN. 


315 


rangement which was ratified in 1815. Its streets and build¬ 
ings have a venerable air. The Dom, or minster, was com¬ 
menced in 1052. It is of pointed architecture, with two hand¬ 
some turrets at the west end, and two curiously carved oaken 
doors. The Great Council of Constance, which met in 1414, 
and sat four years, held its session in the hall of the Kaufhaus. 
Here the German emperor, the pope, 26 princes, 140 counts, 
more than 20 cardinals, 7 patriarchs, 20 archbishops, 91 
bishops, 600 other clerical dignitaries and theologians, and 
about 4000 priests, assembled to settle the divisions of the 
church. The pretended heresies ofWickliffe and Husswere 
here condemned; and the latter, notwithstanding the as¬ 
surances cf safety given him by the emperor, was burnt 
July 6, 1415; and his friend and companion, Jerome of 
Prague, met the same cruel fate May 30, 1410. The hall of 
meeting is now used, as its name implies, as a market- 
house. A number of relics are, however, still preserved, and 
exhibited at one franc per head. Among these are the 
chairs on which sat the emperor and pope, a full-sized model 
of the dungeon in which Huss was confined, and the Bible 
of the martyr. Huss was confined in the Dominican con¬ 
vent, now used as a cotton-printing establishment. The 
suburb of Bruhl, outside of the town, contains the field in 
which Huss was burnt, after being delivered by the pope to 
the emperor, and by him to the provost of Constance. The 
house in which Huss lodged until treacherously seized and 
cast into prison is in the Paul’s Strasse. 

Peteehausen, on the north bank of the river opposite 
Constance, was once a monastery, whose abbot had princely 
rank and title. It was suppressed in 1803, and is now one 
of the residences of the sovereign. 

A diligence runs daily in five hours along the road on the 
south of the Rhine to Schaff hausen, and a steamer makes 
the distance five times a-week in four hours. 

At the point where the river enters the lower lake of 
Untersee is the castle of Gottlieben, an episcopal stronghold 
where Huss and Jerome of Prague were confined. Pope 
John XXIII., their gaoler, was in turn himself thrown into 
the same prison, by order of the Council of Constance, 
which first deposed him. He escaped, however, more easily 
than the Bohemians, being merely reduced to the rank of a 
cardinal. 


316 


SCHAFFHAUSEN TO BASLE. 


The island of Reichenliau, belonging to Baden, is passed 
to the left by the steamer on the Untersee. The Benedictine 
Abbey on this island was suppressed in 1799 : its church 
was dedicated in 806, and contains the remains of Karl der 
Dicke, grandson of Charlemagne, who was deposed by an 
imperial council for the feebleness of his government, and 
died a year after. The riches of this abbey were almost in¬ 
calculable. 

Steckhorn (inns, Lowe and Sarve) has for its kaufhaus 
an old building believed to have been a Roman castle. The 
Cistercian nunnery of Feldbocli lies on the other side of the 
town. 

Stein (inns, Schwan and Krone) is an old-fashioned little 
town belonging to Scliaff hausen, lying on the right bank of 
the Rhine, and connected with the opposite bank by a wooden 
bridge. Some of the houses, particularly the Rothe Ochse 
(Red Ox) and the Weiss Adler (White Eagle), near the kauf¬ 
haus, are embellished with old fresco paintings. In the old 
abbey of St. George there is a hall built in 1516, having a 
wooden roof covered with fine arabesque carvings and walls 
covered with frescoes. A good view may be gained from the 
old castle of Hohenklingen. 

Diessenhofen (inn, Adler), the Ganodurum of the 
Romans, is known to history by the passage of the French 
army over the Rhine in 1800, under Moreau, Lecourbe, and 
Vandamme. Nothing now detains us before reaching 
Schaffhausen. 

SCHAFFHAUSEN TO BASLE. 

Schaffhausen. Inns: Falke, Krone, Schiff; the latter a 
cheap, second-rate inn, near the landing-place of the steamer 
from Constance; Lowe, to be recommended to travellers 
without ladies. There is no hotel, however, in the town 
corresponding to the increased requirementsof modern travel. 
Weber’s Hotel, situate on an eminence near the Zurich road, 
nearly three miles from Schaffhausen, and exactly opposite 
the Rhinefall, is a fine establishment. The table d’hote is at 
1 and 5 o’clock, and the landlord conveys guests proceeding 
to Schaffhausen either to the Post or the Pier for 1 franc. 

The town, which is the capital of the canton of Schaffhausen, 
is situate on the slope of the north bank of the Rhine, and has 


SCHAFFHAUSSEN TO BASLE. 


317 


an industrious population of nearly 6000 souls, and consider¬ 
able trade. It has every appearance of an old Swabian imperial 
city, and has better preserved the exterior forms of middle- 
age architecture than any other town of Switzerland, having 
for centuries been exempt from destructive fires. The project¬ 
ing three-sided windows, with their transomes and mullions; 
the curious roofs; the wall, which incloses the town on the 
landside ; the stately old castle of Unnoth ; and the ancient 
gates, give to Schaff hausen an appearance exceedingly pic¬ 
turesque, especially as seen from the neighbouring villlage 
of Fenestlial. Beyond this, however, the city offers little to 
detain the traveller, being little more than the Swabian 
gate of Switzerland. The Minster, began in 1104 in the 
purest round-arch style, and completed in 1453, was formerly 
the church of the Abbey of All Saints. It has a very 
massive, not to say heavy appearance ; the Gothic portion of 
the structure is here and there in good preservation. There 
is an arched way carried by twelve columns, named after the 
twelve apostles: the Judas pillar, however, has been de¬ 
stroyed. The pulpit is isolated in a jieculiar manner, and has 
the appearance of a tower. The great bell in the town, cast 
in I486, bears the inscription, “ Vivos voco, mortuos plango, 
fulgura /rango ,” which gave occasion to Schiller’s celebrated 
poem. 

The St. Johanneskirche is said to be the largest in Swit¬ 
zerland. The Castle of Unnoth is a large round fortress 
with very strong towers, walls of great thickness, and many 
subterranean passages. The town library, otherwise an un¬ 
important collection, contains many books and manuscripts of 
the historian Johann von Muller (born at Schaffhausen in 
1809), and of his brother George. The once celebrated 
bridge over the Rhine was destroyed by the French under 
Oudinot, in 1799 : the model is to be seen in the library. 
The original was 365 feet from the extreme piers. 

Diligences run daily to Basle, Zurich, Freiburg (in Baden), 
and Berne. Steamers- run to Constance five days a-week ; 
the journey up the stream occupies seven or eight hours, 
just twice the time required for the descent. 

The Falls of the Rhine are two good miles from Schaff¬ 
hausen. The best mode of reaching them is by engaging a 
boat at the pier. The rapids between Schaffhausen and the 


318 


SCHAEFHAUSEN TO BASLE. 


fall are not dangerous when the craft is in the hands of the 
boatmen of the place. The boat lands the visitor under 
Schloss-Laufen, situated on a rock covered with trees over 
the fall. Mr. Beuler the picture-dealer, who rents the 
castle, has ingeniously altered it so as to monopolise all the 
good views near the fall, and cliai’ges one franc per head 
for admission. Having entered, we are shown into a gal¬ 
lery within the house, close to the fall, but considerably 
above it. The quiet enjoyment of the spectacle is ex¬ 
perienced here : but those who desire something more 
awful and exciting may descend to the outer or lower gallery, 
which projects all but into the fall itself. Here the visitor 
seems to be within the grasp of some mighty power. The 
stage on which he stands vibrates to the concussion pro¬ 
duced by the weight of waters ; the ear and the eye are 
alike overpowered. Above is an enormous mass of water 
shooting over a precipice ; below it is raging and foaming 
at one’s feet. The best time for enjoying the view is in the 
morning, when the sunbeams are playing upon the water 
and the spray. On this account it may be advisable to sleep 
near the fall. In falling from the rock the Rhine forms 
three cascades : the most impetuous is that on the south 
side, which rushes over two rocks like pillars. The breadth 
of the river above the fall is near 300 feet, and the depth 
of the fall varies from 50 to 60 feet. In the stillness of 
night, and Avlien the wind is favourable, the roar of the 
waters may be heard at a distance of seven or eight miles. 
It is related that a boatman, who fell asleep in his skiff, was 
once carried over the fall without danger to himself or his 
vessel. Recent experiments, however, place the possibility 
of this fact in a doubtful light, as boats have been shattered 
before reaching the chief fall. On the other hand, bodies of 
persons who have been carried down by the rapids have 
been recovered from the basin below in an unmutilated 
state. 

Boats are always in waiting on both banks to ferry the 
stranger over; the boatmen exact four batzen for this 
trifling labour. The little castle of Wort stands upon an 
island close to the right bank, opposite Schloss-Laufen. 
Besides possessing a camera obscura for showing the fall, 
the house affords entertainment at inn prices. 


SCHAFFHAUSEN TO BASLE. 


319 


The journey to Basle is often made by travellers fond of 
adventure by joining the raftsmen who navigate the timber 
floats from the fall to Laufenburg. The voyage occupies 
about seven hours, and the views of the Rhine valley are 
said to be worth the inconveniences of the enterprise. As 
nervous persons will not be likely to make the experiment, 
it is unnecessary to say that it demands a cool head, and 
occasionally a muscular limb, the rapids being frequent. 
The floats start in the morning, not before the mist has 
cleared off the river. As no provisions are obtainable on the 
voyage, the traveller by this conveyance will have an oppor¬ 
tunity of exercising his forethought. At Laufenburg the 
floats are left, and not rejoined until they have passed the 
rapids or falls there. 

The road from Schaffhausen to Basle offers nothing of 
interest before reaching Waldshut. Just out of the town it 
leaves the Rhine, to make a detour towards the south in 
company with the road to Zurich, while it makes a shorter 
section of the Baden territory. The country is for the most 
part open and well cultivated, with little timber or move¬ 
ment of surface. About three miles before reaching Walds¬ 
hut we come again upon the Rhine, which, at Coblentz, is 
joined by the Aar. This affluent is in reality larger than the 
main stream, and from the extent of country which it drains 
might fairly be held entitled to give its name to the united 
waters. 

Waldshut is one of the four (Black) forest towns. “ A 
quaint, old-fashioned place, with one main street. We 
halted at the Rebstock, a tolerable inn, but smelling strongly 
of the cow stables under the rooms. We had tea in a little 
summer-house which overlooks the river. Here there is a 
good Hew of the junction of the Rhine and Aar. We slept at 
this inn : the charge for tea, bed, and breakfast was, as 
nearly as may be, five shillings each.” 

At Laufenburg (inn, Post), a town of about 1000 inhabi¬ 
tants, built on both sides of the *Rhine, which are connected 
by a wooden bridge, the river is narrowed, and the stream 
becomes, in consequence, more rapid. The bed of the river 
is also uneven, and thrusts up rocks, which render naviga¬ 
tion dangerous. The name of the Lesser Falls, sometimes 
given to these rapids, is an exaggeration. It was here that 


320 


SCHAFFHAUSEN TO BASLE. 


Lord Montague was drowned while attempting to cross the 
river in a skiff. The old German topographer, Merian, 
speaks of the practice of crossing the river here in small 
boats as not uncommon in his day (1042), but mentions 
summer as a dangerous season for the attempt. A few 
years ago a professional gymnasiast sprang from bank to 
bank, a leap of 17 feet. There is in this neighbourhood an 
old castle, once the seat of the Hapsburg-Stauffenbergs, a 
younger line of the reigning house of Austria. 

Beyond Laufenburg the road divides : one branch is con¬ 
tinued on the right, or Baden bank of the Rhine, through 
Seckingen ; and the other crosses by the wooden bridge to 
the southern side of the river, and passes through Rhein- 
felden. The latter is that traversed by the diligence. 

Stein, a village on the latter route, where the road for 
Zurich branches off, has a good inn, the Lowe or Post. 
Seckingen, on the opposite bank, is seen from here, with its 
large church, once belonging to a splendid abbey which 
owned the entire canton of Glarus. Passing by Nieder 
Mumpf and Moehli, we come to 

Rheinfeld, the last of the forest towns. Inns: Drei 
Ivonige, Krone or Post. It is built of stones taken from Au¬ 
gusta Rauracorum. Formerly it was strongly fortified, and 
besieged times without number by the forces of the Holy 
Roman Empire. In 1744, however, it fell into the hands of 
France ; but, since 1801, has belonged to Switzerland. The 
famous Duke Bernard of Saxe Weimar and Johann von 
Westh fought several battles under its walls in the spring of 
1638, and in the end Bernard overcame his adversary, and 
took him prisoner. The Rheingrave Johann Philip perished 
in this last conflict. Two hundred years earlier the Confe¬ 
derates destroyed the fortress of Stein, formerly a seat of 
King Rudolph of Swabia, the anti-emperor Henry V. 

Basle-Augst and Kaiser-Augst, two small villages, lie 
on the line of the road on either side of the river Ergolz, 
which here flows into the Rhine. Here once stood the 
Roman city, Augusta Rauracorum, founded by Munatius 
Plaucus in the reign of Augustus, and destroyed in the great 
northern migration. An abundance of Roman remains has 
been found where the site has been excavated. Herr 
Schmidt has made a considerable collection of such, and 


CHUR TO ZURICH. 


321 


arranged the objects round a garden. About five miles be¬ 
yond our road crosses the Birs, and we are at Basle (see 
page 20). 

CHUR TO ZURICH. 

As far as Sarganz, this route has already been traced in 
that from Chur to Constance. The traveller in haste, by 
taking the diligence which leaves Chur at 5 a. m., may arrive 
in Zurich at 6 the same evening, as he will find the diligence 
and steamers working in conjunction. 

At Sarganz, we are on the ridge which divides the valley 
of the Rhine from that of the Scez; and to reach Zurich, 
instead of re-descending towards the former, as in the 
route to Constance, we follow the latter in its descent 
to the Wallenstadter-see. The distance from Sarganz to 
Wallenstadt is nine miles; a diligence runs twice a-dav. 
From Wallenstadt to Wesen, at the other end of the lake, is 
an hour and a half’s voyage by the steamboat, which runs 
twice a-day. From Wesen to Schmerikon, on the lake of 
Zurich, is eleven miles, and at the latter place the steam¬ 
boat again receives the traveller, and carries him in about 
four hours to Zurich. The descent of the Scez is through 
a very pleasing country. 

Wallenstadt (inns: Adler-arn-See, Rossli, and Hirscli, 
all bad) is built close under the mountains, about half a mile 
from the lake. The town is poor, and the meadows between 
it and the lake marshy. 

The lake of Wallenstadt (according to Keller) is rather 
less than ten miles in length by one and a half in breadth 
at its widest part; it is, however, actually wider and larger 
by a mile. Its northern shore is composed of a continuous 
range of cliffs, which rise sheer out of the water. The gene¬ 
ral surface of the rock is perpendicular, and attains the 
height of nearly 3000 feet above the level of the lake. The 
flat crown of the rocks, which extend for miles, is covered 
with luxuriant fields and populous villages. The southern side 
is also rocky, but slopes so as to afford a position for woods, 
roads, villages, and occasionally meadows. The high moun¬ 
tains to the right, as the traveller embarks at Wallen¬ 
stadt, and which are visible above the north shore, are the 
Kurfirsten ( Kur , high; first, summit). A curiously per¬ 
forated mountain, called the Murtenstock, rises on the south 

Y 


322 CHUR TO ZURICH. 

of the lake. Its peak, which is 7270 feet in height, is 
pierced as if by an immense shot. When the boat is over 
against Miihlehorn, the voyager may see right through this 
singular eye. The names of the villages on the banks of 
this lake—Prbrusch (prima), Sigundo (secunda), Terzen, 
Quarten, and Quinten, together with the description of Gas- 
ter (Castra Rheetica), applied to the whole district, remind 
us that this w r as once the quarters of some cohorts of a 
Romish legion. 

Wesen (inns : Schwert, Adler, Rossli) is a small village, 
finely situated at the western end of the Wallenstadler-see. 
Behind the Rossli inn there is a pretty fall. Diligences 
await the arrival of the steamer from Wallenstadt, and con¬ 
vey passengers to Glarus and to Schmerikon. A boat also 
leaves for Schmerikon by the Linth canal, and is as quick a 
conveyance as the diligence. When it is impracticable to 
obtain a place in the diligence, from which the country may 
be freely seen, the boat is in every respect to be preferred. 

The Linth Canal is one of the most interesting public 
works in Switzerland. It had its origin in the following cir¬ 
cumstances. Until the year 1807, the Wallenstadter-see 
discharged its superfluous waters near Wesen into the chan¬ 
nel of a small river called the Matt, flowing into the Lake 
of Zurich. About two miles from the first-mentioned lake 
the Matt was overtaken in its course by the Linth, a very 
rapid torrent, which brought down from the mountains of 
the Glarus valley a collection of stones and gravel, so large 
as to block up the channel of the Matt, and by raising its 
bed to dam up the waters of the Wallenstadter-see, so that 
the towns of Wesen and Wallenstadt were overflowed, and 
the valley between the two lakes filled with marshes. In 
1807, Mr. Conrad Escher submitted to the Diet a plan for 
converting this devastating torrent of the Linth into a means 
of navigation. He proposed to turn the Linth from its na¬ 
tural course, and bring it into the Wallenstadter-see, where 
its force might be harmlessly expended, and then to cut a 
deeper channel for the transmission of the overflow of the 
upper lake of Wallenstadt as a substitute for that of the 
Matt. This project was not carried out until 1822, since 
which period the valley has been secure from inundation, 
and is now as well cultivated as any in Switzerland. For 
this great service M. Escher received from his country the 


ZURICH TO BASLE. 


3<!3 


title of Yon der Linth, one of the most honourable and dig¬ 
nified, though simple distinctions, that can be conceived of 
as a reward. 

The valley of Glarus is seen on the left, almost the entire 
distance between Wesen and Uznach. The road to St. Gall 
turns off at this latter town. 

At Schmerikon (inn, Ross) the Linth boats and the dili¬ 
gences stop, and the steamer completes the distance to 
Zurich, already described in the route Zug to Zurich (page 
99). 

ZURICH TO BASLE. 

From Zurich (see page 101), the trains of the Swiss Nor¬ 
thern Railway, an exceedingly well-conducted line, and at 
present the only iron-road in Switzerland, convey pas¬ 
sengers to Baden, a distance of 25 English miles, in 45 mi¬ 
nutes. Four trains run daily each way, except on Sundays. 
Those from Zurich start at 8 a.m., and 2, 3§, and 7 p.m. : 
fares, first class, 1 franc 40 rappen ; second class, 1 franc; 
third class, 60 rappen. The remaining half of the route is 
performed by diligence from Baden. Diligences also leave 
Zurich for the whole distance, 55 miles; in the morning at 
7^-, and evening at 6§ o’clock, performing the journey in ten 
hours and a half. 

Between Zurich and Baden the only place of note is Die- 
tiklon (to be reached either by diligence or railway train), 
where, in 1799, Massena effected his famous passage of the 
Limrnat, drove back the Russians, and took Zurich. The 
old town of 

Baden (inns, Wage and Lowe), known to the Romans 
as Yicus Thermarum, destroyed by Csecina and the Legio 
Rapar, and rebuilt as a fortress in the middle ages, was often 
the seat of the Princes of Austria, especially of Albrecht 
(1306) before his murder, Leopold I. (1315), and Leo¬ 
pold II. (1388), before the eventful days of Morgarten and 
Sempacli. The ruins of the fortress, called Der Stein zu 
Baden, destroyed in 1712, and almost as large as the town 
itself, commands the latter from an eminence. In the 
Rathhaus, on the 7th September, 1714, Prince Eugene on 
the part of Austria, Marshal Villars for France, and depu¬ 
ties on behalf of the German empire, signed the treaty of 
peace which terminated the war of the Spanish succession. 


324 


ZURICH TO BASLE. 


The Baths, which have given their name (Baden) to the 
town, are warm (37° Reaumur) and sulphurous. They lie 
in a basin, about a mile to the north of the town; the 
lesser upon the right, and the greater (inns, Vereuahof, 
Stadhof, Schiff, Limmathof, Frechof, Rabe), which are most 
frequented, on the left bank of the Limmatt. The popu¬ 
lation of Baden is under 2000 : in the year 1840 it was 
visited by 20,000 bathers and travellers. 

Brugg (inns, Rothes Haus and Rossli) is a town of 
less than 1000 inhabitants, just above the confluence of the 
Aar, the Reuss, and the Limmat. A little nearer to this 
confluence stood Yindonissa, the most important military 
station of the Romans in Switzerland. It was destroyed 
in the fifth century, and of its magnificent buildings, aque¬ 
ducts, amphitheatre, temple, and villas, nothing whatever 
remains. 

A mile from the town stands the former abbey of Ivonigs- 
feld, founded by the Empress Elizabeth and Agnes of 
Hungary, in 1310, upon the spot where two years before 
their husband and father, the Emperor Albrecht, had been 
slain by Johann of Suabia and his companions. 

The Castle of Hapsburg, the original seat of the now 
Imperial house of that name, is situated about two miles 
from Brugg, on a hill called Wulpelsberg. The castle dates 
from 1020, but frequent renewals and restorations have left 
little of the original building. ‘ The traveller disinclined to 
go out of his w r ay to see this memorial, may get an excellent 
view of the castle, as well as of the Alps, from the top of the 
hill beyond Brugg. 

Frick (inns, Adler and Ange) is a village of nearly 2000 
inhabitants. The next village reached is Stein, where the 
Zurich road joins that of Basle and Sehaffhausen, described 
on page 310. 


TABLE OF DISTANCES, 


_ » 

The figures signify Swiss stunden or leagues,—a variable 
distance, not exceeding two English miles upon very steep 
ascents, and in places less steep, two miles and a-half. On 
a level road, the stunde is equivalent to three English miles. 


Aarau to Aarburg 3^, Aarwangen 7, Baden 6, Basle 10, 
Balsthal 7, Berne 14, Bienne 14, Bremgarten 6, Brugg 4, 
Frick by the Stahleck 3^, Gelterkiuden by the Schafmatt 5, 
Hallwyl 3, Kaiserstuhl 8, Langenthal 7, Laufenbiu-g 5, 
Lenzburg 2, Lostorf (Baths of) 2, Lucerne 10, Mellingen 4, 
Munster 5, Muri 6, Olten 3, Rheinfelden 7, Schinznach 3, 
Schoenenwerd 1, Soleure 10, Sursee 0, St. Urban 0, Wohlen 4, 
Zofingen 4, Zurich 10, Zurzach 6. 

Airolo to Acqua 2£, Andermatt 5, Bellinzona 12, homo 
d’Ossola 15, Eginen 6£, Faido 4, Fusio 4, Giornico 7, Got- 
hard (Hospice of St.) 2^, Lukmanier 6, Obergestelen 7, 
Toccia (the Fall of the) 7, Turba 3. 

Altorf to Airolol3, Amstoeg 3, Andermatt 7£, Bellinzona 26, 
Burglen^, Engelberg by the Surenes 9, Erstfelden 2, Fluelen 

Gceschenen 6, Linththal by the Ivlausen 9, Lucerne (by the 
steam-boat) 3, Mayenthal 6, Meyringen by the Susten 17, 
Rhone (Glacier of the) by the Furca 14, Schwyz 5, Seelis- 
berg 4, Spiringen 2, Unterscliaechen 3, Wasen 5. 

Andermatt to Airolo 5, Altorf 7£, Amsteg 4£, Disentis 8, 
Furca 5, Gothard (Hospice of St.) 3, Grimsel (Hospice of 
the) 9, llanz 14, Rhone (Glacier of) 6-7, Wasen 2|. 

Appenzell to Altstetten3, BrullisaulL Eggerstanden 1, 
Fsehlernalp 3, Gais 1$, Gonten 1£, Heiden 4£, Herisau by 
Hundwyl 4, Hundwyl 3, Kamor S£, Lichtensteig 7, St. Gall 4, 
Soemtisthal 2, Ssentis 7, Seealp 2, Sennwald by Brullisau 3^, 
Teufen 2, Trogen 4, Umaesch 2, Weis shad £, Wildhaus 6, 
Wildkirclili 2. 




326 


DISTANCES. 


Altstetten to Appenzell 3, Balgach 1, Bregenz 4£, Feld- 
kirch 4, Gais 2, Heiden by Trogen 5, by St. Antoine 2£, 
Oberrieden 1£, Rheineck 3, Rorschach 4£, Sargans 7-8, Senn- 
Avald 2^, St. Gall by Trogen 5, Trogen 3, Weissbad 3£, Wer- 
denberg 5. 

Baden to Aaran 6, Baldegg 1, Basle 12, Bremgarten 3^, 
Brugg 2, Kaiserstuhl 2£, Lpegernberg 2, Langnau 1£, Lenz- 
burg 3, Mellingen 1^, Regensberg 2^, Schinznach 3, Zurich 4£, 
Zurzach 3£. 

Basle to Aarau 10, Aarburg 9, Ai’lesheim 1£, Augst 2, 
Baden 12, Badenweiler 7, Balsthal 7, Berne by Soleure 18, 
by the Valley of Moutiers 22, Brugg 10, Bubendorf 4, Dele- 
mont 7, Eglisau 17, Eptingen 5, Freiburg 12, Frick 7, 
Kaiserstuhl 15, Klingnau 11, Lachauxdefonds 18, Laufen 4, 
Laufenburg 8, Liestal 3, Locle 20, Loerrach 2, Lucerne 20, 
Mariastein 2^, Mulilhouse on the railway 1, Olten 8, Porren- 
trui 9, Reigolzwyl 6,Rheinfelden 3, Schaffhausen 17, Schinz¬ 
nach (Baths of) 11, Schweizerliall 1, Sekingen 0, Sissach 4, 
Soleure 12, Stein in Argo via 6, Stein to the canton of Schaff¬ 
hausen 20, Strasbourg by railway 4, Waldsliut 10, Zofingen 
10, Zurich 16, Zurzach 12. 

Balsthal to Aaran 5, Beinweil4, Court 5, Goensbrunnen 3^, 
Langenthal 3^, Laufen 7, Liestal 6-7, Meltingen 6-7, Mum- 
liswyl 1, Neuhaeusli 3, Olten 3^, Soleure 4, Waldenburg 3, 
Wangen 2. 

Bellinzona to Airolo 12, Altorf 26, Andermatt 18, Bern- 
hardin 9-10, Biasca3^, Coire 23, Disentis by the Lukmanier 
16, Domaso by the Mont S. Giori 7, Domo d’Ossola by Locarno 
and the valley of Centovalli 10, by Baveno 10, Faido 7, Gior- 
nico 4|, Hinterrhein 12-13, Locarno 4, Lugano 6, Milan 14, 
Misocco 7, Obergestelen by Airolo 20, Olivone 8, Rove- 
redo 2^. 

Berne to Aarau 14, Aarberg 4, Aarburg 11, Aarwangen 9, 
Adelboden 14, Anet 7, Avenches 7, Basle 18, Balsthal 11, 
Belp 1|, Bienne 6, Blumenstein (Baths of) 5, Brienz 14, 
Brugg 17, Buren 6, Burgdorf 4, Delemont 15, Engistein 
(Baths of) 2, Erlach 7, Estavayer 11, Fraubrunnen 4, Frei¬ 
burg 5, Fruttigen 10, Gasteren 16, Geneva 30, Gessenay 
17-18, Grindelwald 15, Guggisberg 6, Gurnigel (Baths of) 6, 
Gurten 1, Herzogenbuchsee 8, Hindelbank 3, Hofwyl 2, 
Huttwyl 9, Interlacken 11, Kalchnach 5, Kandersteg 13, 
Kirchberg 4, Langenthal 9, Langnau 6, Laupen 4, Lau- 


DISTANCES. 


327 


sanne 17, Lauterbrunnen 14, Leuk 14, Lenzburg 10, Leuker- 
bad (Baths of Loueche) 10, Locle 15, Lucerne 20, Mey- 
ringen 18, Morat 5, Morgenthal 9, Moutiers 13, Munch- 
wyler 5, Neuchatel 9, Neuveville 8 , Nidau 6 , Olten 6 , 
Pay erne 9, Porrentrui 16, Romont 10, Saanen 17-18, 
Schangnau 9, Schinznach (Baths of) 17, Schwarzenburg 4, 
Schwarzsee 9, Signau 5, Soleure 7, Spiez 7, Summiswald 6 , 
Sursee 15, Tavannes 9, Thun 0, Unterseen 10, Wangen 8 , 
Weissenburg 10, Wittlisbach 9, Wimmis 8 , Yverdon 13, 
Zofingen 12, Zurich 23, Zweisimmen 14. 

Sex to Aigle 14, Anzeindaz 34, Chateau d’Oex by the 
Mosses 7, Frenieres 2, Grion 14, Gsteig by the Billon 7, 
Illier 3, Lausanne 10, Martigny 34, St. Maurice f, Mon- 
they 14, Ormonds 4, Sion by Martigny 9, by the Col de la 
Cheville 12, Sixt 12, Vevay 6 , Villeneuve 34- 

Bienne to Barberg 3, Berne 0, Buren 3, Delemont 10, 
Erlach 34, Moutiers 7-8, Neuchatel 6 , Neuveville 3, Nidau 4> 
Soleure 4, Sonceboz 34, St. Imier 7-8, St. Pierre (Isle of) 2, 
Tavannes 4, Twann 14- 

Bisctiofzell to Arbon 4, Buren 2, Constance 44, Frauen- 
feld 6 , Gossau 3, Muhlheim 4, St. Gall 5, Sulgen .14, Wein- 
felden 24, Wyl 34- 

Bremgarten to Aarau 6 , Affoltern 24, Baden 3, Birmens- 
torf 14, Brugg 4, Dietiklon 2, Hallwyl 3, Knonau 44, Lenz¬ 
burg 34, Lucerne 8 , Mellingen 2, Merischwanden 24 , Muri 
24 , Sarmenstorf 2, Schinznach 5, Sins 44, Villmergen 14, 
Wohlen 1 . 

Brieoz to Berne 14, Brunig 2, Faulhorn 5, Flueli by the 
Brienzergrat 6 , Giessbach Guttannen G—7, Grimsel (Hos¬ 
pice of the) 11, Interlacken by land 4, by steam-boat 14, Lun- 
gern 4, Meyringen 24, Both horn 34, Sarnen 6-7, Schupf- 
heim by the mountain 7-8, Soerenberg 5, Thun with the 
steam-boat 5. 

Brugg- to Aarau 4, Baden 2, Basle 10, Birr 14, Brem- 
garten 4, Frik 3, Holderbank 14 , Klingnau 24, Lenzburg 24, 
Mellingen 2, Schinznach (Baths of) 1, Zurich 7, Zurzach 3. 

Brieg to Domo d’Ossola 14, Laax 3, Leuk J 7, Moerel 1^, 
Obergestelen 8 , Persal 3, Sierre 9, Simpeln 7, Sion 12, 
Turtmann 6 . 

Burgdorf to Berne 4, Fraubrunnen 2, Herzogenbuchsee4, 
Hindelbank 14 , Hofwyl 3, Huttwyl by Summiswald 5, Kirch- 


328 


DISTANCES. 


berg 1, Langentlial 5, Langnau 5, Lutzelfluh 1§, Soleure 5, 
Summiswald 3, Sursee 9, Thun 8-9. 

Cernetz to Alvenu 9, Ardetz 3, Bergun 7, Bevers 4, Buf- 
falora (Col duj 13§, Chiavenna 10-17, Davos 8, Filisur 8-9, 
Forno 2, Glurns 8, Ivlosters 9-10, Lavin 1§, Maloja 9-10, 
Martinsbruk 8, Munster 0, Ponte 3, Poscliiavo 13, St. Moritz 
0-7, Samaden 5, Scanfs 2, Schuols 4£, Silvaplana 8, Sins 5, 
Suss 1. 

Chamonix to Bonneville 13, Cluse 10, Geneva 18, Mar- 
tigny 9, St. Gervais 4^, Sallanclies 6-7, Servoz 3, Sixt by 
the Col d’Anterne 8, Chamonix around Mont Blanc 00-55, 
namely: 4 toBionnay by the Col de Voza, 2 Contamines, 1£ 
Nant Bourant, 3^ Col de Bonhomme, 2 Coupeau, 2 Motet, 
1^ Col de la Seigne, 5 Courmayeur, 2 Morgex, 3 Villeneuve, 
2 Aoste, 5 St. Remy, 2J St. Bernard, 3 St. Pierre, 1 Orsieres, 
2 Bovernier, 1£ Martigny, 2 Col de Trient, 3 Col de Balme, 
4 Priory of Chamonix. 

Coire to Albula 12, Alveneu 0-7, Andeer 7-8, Andermatt 
20, Bellinzona 23, Bergun 9, Bernhardin 13, Bludenz 14, 
Bregenz 16, Brigels 9, Calanda 4, Chiavenna 18, Churwalden 

2, Como 34, Davos 9, Disentis 13, Elm 12, Feldkirch 10, 
Fideris by Malans 8, by Schalflk 10, Glams 15, Haldenstein 
•£, Hinterrhein 11, Ilanz 7, Julier 12, Ivlosters 10, Lenz 5, 
Lindau 18, Lugano 29, Lugnetz 10, Lukmanier 19, Malans 4, 
Milan 42, Mayenfeld 4, Medels 10, Misocco 16, St. Gall 20, 
St. Moritz 10, Oberalp 18, Panix 9, Parpan 2£, Pfeifers 5, 
Poscliiavo 22, Ragaz 4, Rapperschwyl 19, Reichenau 2, 
Rheineck 15, Sargans 6, Schuols 24, Silvaplana 15, Spliigen 9, 
Stalla 11, Thusis 5, Trons 10, Wallenstaad 9, Wesen 13, 
Werdenberg 9, Wildhaus 11, Zizers 2, Zurich 25. 

Como to Assina 4^, Bellagio by water 5, by the Valley 
of Assina 7, Chiavenna 15, Domaso 10, Erba 2^, Lecco 6, 
Lenno 4, Lugano 5, Mendrisio 2, Milan 10, Pliniana 1^, 
Sesto Calende 7, Varese 4^. 

Constance to Arbon 0, Bischofzell 4^, Diessenliofen 7-8, 
Frauenfeld 6, Radolfzell 5, Rheineck 9, Rorschach 7-8, St. 
Gall 9, Schaffliausen 10, Sulgen 3, Stein 5-6, Steckhorn 3. 

Davos to Alvenu 4, Coire by the Valley of Schalflk 10, 
Fideris by the Strela 0_7, Filisur by Jenisberg 4£, Ivlosters 

3, Lenz 6, Scanfs by the Scaletta 8, Schmelziboden 2, Suss 
by the Valley of Fluela G—7, Thusis 9. 


DISTANCES. 


929 

Eisentis to Airolo by the Valley of Medels 11, Amsteg bv 
the Kreuzli Tass 9-10, Andermatt by the Oberalp 7-8, Bellin- 
zona by the Lukmanier 16, Coire 18, Ilanz 6-7, Linththal by 
the Sandalp 12-18, Lukmanier 3, Oberalp 6, Olivone 8, 
Sandalp 6-7, Sedrun 1^, Trons 3. 

Einsiedeln to Alpthal 1, Arth by the Steinerberg 5-6, 
Egeri by Sattel 4|, Etzel 2|, Glarus by Lachen 10, by the 
Valley of the Sihl and of the Kloen 8, Lachen 4, Lucerne 
9-10, Rapperschwyl 4, Richtenschwyl 3|, Rothenthurm 2, 
Schindellegi 2, Schwyz by the Haggen 3£, by Roten- 
thurm 3, Steinen 4, Zug by Egeri 8, by Schwyz and* Arth 10, 
Zurich 9. 

Engelberg to Altorf by the Surenes 9, Blakenalp 3, Eng- 
stlenalp, 4, Grafenort 2, Herrenruti 1£, Horbis 1, Meiringen 
by the Jocli 9-10, Melchthal by the Storegg 6, Sarnen by 
the Storegg 8, by Stanz 7-8, Stanz 4^, Wolfenschiess 3. 

Entlibuch to Brienz by Marienthal 8-9, Escholzmatt 2|, 
Fahrenbuhl 2, Flueli 2^, Langnau 6, Lucerne by the Bra- 
megg 5, by Wollhausen 6, M alters by the Bramegg 3, 
Marbach 4^, Napf 3, Sarnen by the Valley of Entlen 7, 
Schupfheim 1, Scerenberg 6, Thun by Schangnau 9-10, Wil-. 
lisau 4^, Wollhausen 2 

Erlach to Aarberg 3, Anet 1, Avenches 5£, Berne 6, 
Bienne 3£, Breti^ge (Bruttelen) l, Buren by Anet and Aar¬ 
berg 6, Freiburg 7, Landeron Morat 3£, Neuveville 1, 
St, Blaise 2, St. Pierre (Isle of) L|- 

Fideris to Bludenz by the mountain 11, Coire by 
Malans 8, by Schalfik 10, Davos by Fandey 6-7, by Klosters 
5£, Fandey 4, Jenatz 3, Klosters 3, Malans 4-j, Ragaz 6, 
St. Antoine 3, Sargans 7-8, Schiers 2£, Suss by the Selvretta 
9-10, Wallenstaad 11, Werdenberg 11. 

“Frauenfeld to Arbon 8, Bischofzell 6, Constance 5, 
Diessenhofen 4|, Fischingen 3|, Gyrenbad 4, Ittingen 1£, 
Lichtensteig 6, Mazingen 1, Muhlheim 2, Rheineck 14, St. 
Gall 8, Schaffhausen 5|, Steckhorn 3|, Weinfelden 3£, Win¬ 
terthur 3, Wyl 3^, Zurich 7. 

Freiburg- to Avenches 3, Avry 4, Berne 6, Bonne 1|, 
Bulle 6, Bienne 9, Charmey 8-9, Chateau d’Oex 10-11, 
Chatel St. Denis 10, Corbibres 4, Cudrefin 6, Estavayer, 6, 
Garmischwyl 1, Gruybres 7, Guggisberg, 3, Hauterive 2, 
Bellegarde by Plaffeyen 9, by Bulle 12, Kerzerz 5, Laupen 3, 
Lausanne 12, Mariahilf 1, Montbarri 7, Montbovon 9, 


330 


DISTANCES. 


Morat 3, Moudon by Ene 9, Neuchatel 9, Neuenek 3^, 
Pay erne 4|, Plaffayen 3, Port Alban 5, Romont G, Rue 8, 
Saanen 12, St. Aubin 4, St. Madelaine (Hermitage of) 1, 
Schwarzsee 6, Semsales 9, Soleure 13, Tafers 1, Thun by 
Saanen 24, Yevay 12, Yverdon 9. 

Frutigen to Adelboden 4, Aeschi 2^, Gasteren 7, In- 
terlacken G, Kandersteg 3, Kienthal 2,Leissigen 4, Leuk by 
the Hahneumoos 7, Leukerbad (Baths of Loueehe) 9-10, 
Oescliinen 4^, Reichenbach 1£, Thun 5, Wimmis f). 

Cais to Altstetten 2, Appenzell 1£, Gtebris ], Heiden by 
Teufen and Trogen 5-6, by the footpath of the Gsebiis 2, 
Herisau by St. Gall 3, Rheineck by Altstetten 7-8, by Trogen 
and Heiden, 7, St. Gall 3, Teufen 1£, Trogen 3, Urmes- 
chen 2^. 

St. Gall to Altstetten by Trogen 4, by Rheineck 7-8, 
Appenzell by Teufen 4, by Herisau G, Arbon 3, Bis- 
chofzell 4, Bregenz 8, Coire 18, Constance 8, Ebnat 8, 
Feldkirch 10, Flawyl 4, Frauenfeld 9, Gais 3, Glarus 15, 
Gonten 5, Gossau 2, Heinrichsbad 2, Herisau 2, Hundwyl 4, 
Ivaltbrunnen 10-11, Liehtensteig 6-7, Lindau by the Lake of 
Constance 6, by Rheineck and Bregenz 10, Mayenfeld 14, 
Pfeifers 15^, Eagaz 14£, Rapperschwvl 14^, Rheineck 4, 
Rorschach 2£, Sargans by Trogen and Altstetten 13, by 
Rheineck] 6, Schatfhausen by Frauenfeld 13, by Constance 17, 
Scboenis 11-12, Stein on the Rhine 11, Stein on the Token- 
burg 10, Teufen 1, Trogen 2, Uznach 11, Wallenstaad 3 G, 
Wattwyl 7, Werdenberg 10, Wesen 13, Wildbaus by Trogen 
and Altstetten 11, by Liehtensteig 13, Winterthur 10, Wyl 3^, 
Zurich 15. 

Geneva to Aigle 19, Aix 14, Amphion 8, Annecy 10, 
Aubonne 8, Bellegarde 10, Bex 1, Bonneville 6, Carouge 1, 
Chambery 16, Chamouny 18, Cluse 8, Coppet 3, Cossonex 11, 
Cully 13, Evian 8£, Ferney 1|, Fort d”Ecluse 7, Faucille 6, 
Gex 4, Heremence 3, Lausanne 12, Lyon 32, Martigny 20, 
Mole 8, Morges 9, Nyon 5, Orbe 14, Reculet 6, Rolle 7, St. 
Gervais 13, Sal&ve 4, Sallanches 12, Samoens 10, Thonon G, 
Yersoix 2, Yevay 15, Villeneuve 17, Yverdon 16. 

Glarus to Altorf by the Klausen 12, Bilten 3, Coire 15, 
Einsiedeln by Lachen 9, Elm 4, Ivaltbrunnen 4, Ivloenthal 2, 
Lacben 6, Liehtensteig 7-8, Linththal 3, Luchsingen 2, Matt 
3, Mollis 1, MuhUhorn 3|, Muotta 7, Naefels 1, Ragaz 10, Rap- 
perschwyl 7, Richtenschwyl 7f, St. Gall J6, Sargans 8£, 


DISTANCES. 


33 ] 


Scliwandfen 1, Schwyz by the Pragel 10, Uznacli 5, Waeden- 
schwyl 8, Wallenstaad 6, Zurich 13. 

Greiffensee to Bauma 3£, Egg 3, Fischenthal 5-6, Gru- 
ningen 3, Pfaeffikon 2, Pmti 15, Stsefa 4, Uster 1, Uznach 7, 
Winterthur 4£, Zurich 3, 

Gruyeres to Bellegarde 3^, Bulle l, Charmey 14, Chateau 
d’Oex 4-5, liomont 4£, Saanen G, Schwarzsee 4^, Val-Sainte 
2 £, Yevay 5-6. 

Herisau to Appenzell 4, Gossau 1, Gais 4, Hundwyl 1|, 
Lichtensteig 5, Mogelsberg 2, Peterzell 3^, St. Gall 1^, 
Trogen 4, Umaesehen 2, Waldstatt 1, Wyl 3^. 

Ilanz to Andermatt 13, Brigels 3, Coire 7, Elm by the Col 
de Segues 6, by the Col de Panix 9, Flims 2^, Hinterrhein by 
Lugnetz and Valserberg 9-10, Linththal by the Kistenberg 
13-14, Pfetfers 11, Panix 2£, Peiden 1^, Trons 4, Yals 5, 
Vrin 4^. 

Interlacken to Brienz 3, Frutigen 6, Grindelwald by Burg- 
lauenen 4^, by Lauterbrunnen and Wengernalp 8-9, Hab- 
keren 2, Ivandersteg 9, Lauterbrunnen 2^, Leissingen 2, 
Meyringen by Brienz 6, by Grindelwald and Bosenlaui 10-11, 
Schmadribach 5-6, Thun 5. 

.Lar.^entIial to Aarau 6, Aarburg 4, Aarwangen 1, Balsthal 
4Berne 9, Burgdorf 5, Fraubrunnen 6, Herzogenbuchsee 
l,Hindelbank 6, Huttwyl 3^, Kirch berg 5, Langnau by Burg¬ 
dorf 10, Lucerne 10, Olten 5, St. Urban 1, Soleure 5, Sursee 6, 
Wangen 2, Willisau by Huttwyl 4£, by Melchnau 3, Zofingen 
by Aarburg 5, by Dagmersellen 5-6. 

Langnau by Berne 6, Burgdorf 5, Diessbach 3£, Entli- 
buch 6, Escholzmatt 3^, Huttwyl 6-7, Langenthal 10, Lu¬ 
cerne 11, Luthern by Trub 8, Marbach 4, Napf 6, Signau 1, 
Soleure 10, Summiswald 2Thun 5, Trub 2. 

Lausanne to Aigle 8, Aubonne 5, Avenches 10, Berne 17, 
Bex 9-10, Bryg 30, Bulle 9, Coppet 9, Cossonex 3, Eschal- 
lens 3, Estavayer 9, Etivaz 12, Freiburg 12, Geneva 12, 
Grandson 6-7, Lalliaz 6, Lassarez 4, Loufcche (Leuk) 25, 
Lutry 1, Martigny 13, Montreux 5, Morat 12, Morges 2, 
Mouclon 4, Neuchatel 13, Nyon 7, OrbeO, Payerne8, Rolle 5, 
Romainmotiers 7-8, Sion 20, Yersoix 10, Yevay 3|, Vil¬ 
len euve 6, Yverdon 7. 

Lenzburg to Aarau 2, Aarburg 5, Baden 3, Bremgarten 8£, 
Brugg 2^, Grsenichen 2, Hallwyl 2|, Kulm 3, Langenthal 
8 -9, Lucerne 10, Mellingen H, Munster 6, Muri 4, Schinz- 


DISTANCES. 


•132 


nach 14 , Suhr 1|, Sursee 7-8, Villmergen 2, Wolden 24, 
Zofingen 6, Zurich by Baden 7-8, by the Heitersberg 0, 
Zurzach 6—7. 

Liditensteig to Appenzell 7, Bauma 44, Bildhaus 2, 
Bischofzell 7, Brunnadem 14, Butschwyl 1, Ebnat 2, Flawyl 
4, Fischingen 34, Frauenfeld 6, Gallenkappel 34, Glarus 7-8, 
Gossau 0, Herisau 5, Kaltbrunnen 34, Lutisburg 2, Mogels- 
berg 2, Mullruti 24, Nesslau 34, Peterzell 2, Rapperschwyl 
6-7, St.Gall 6-7, Schaenis 5, Schoenengrund 3, Stein 4, Taeger- 
schen 3, Urnseschen 5, Utznach 4,’Waldstaad. 44, Wattwyl 4, 
Werdenberg 8, Wildhaus 6, Wesen 64, Wyl 3. 

Xiiexsal to Aarau by the Scliafmatt 7, by the Hauenstein 9, 
Aarburg7, Augst 2, Basle 34, Balsthal6-7, Bruggby Gelter- 
kinden and Frik 8, Bubendorf 4, Dornach 24, Eptingen 34, 
Frik by Sissach 5, Gelterkinden 2, Laufen by Reigolzwyl 7, 
Lfeufelfingen 34, Meltingen 44, Olten 6, Oltingen 4, Reigol¬ 
zwyl 3, Rheinfelden 3, Sissach 14, Waldenburg 34, Zo¬ 
fingen 8. 

Siinthtbal to Altorf 2, B aura garten alp 4, Brigels 10, Braun- 
wald 14 , Disentis 12-13, Elm by the Valley of Durnach 6, 
by Selrwanden 5, Glarus 3, Ilanz 15, Kistenberg 7, Klausen 
34, Limmern 6, Matt 4, Muotta by the Bisithal 7, Panten- 
hruk 2, Sandalp superior 6, Schwanden 2, Urnerboden 2, 
Unterschiechen 6. 

Locarno to Airolo by the Valley of Maggia 12, Ascona 1, 
Bellinzona 4, Berzona 3, Borgnone 4, Bosco 6, Cevio 4, 
Crana 44, Domo d’Ossola 9, Fusio 8, Intra 9, Intragna 2, 
Lavertezzo 44, Lugano 7, Magadino 3, Maggia 2. 

Lode to the Bayards 6-7, to Bienne by the Valley of St. 
Imier 12, to the Bois 5, to the Brenets 1, to the Brevine 34, 
to Lachauxdefonds 2, to Chaux du Milieu 14, to Court- 
lari 7, Morteau 24, Motiers by the Brevine and the Verrieres 9, 
Neuchatel 6, Pontarlier 10, Renan 4, Sant du Doubs 14, 
Saignelegier 8, St. Imier 54, St. Ursannes 12, Tavannes 9, 
Vallangin 7, Verrieres 7. 

Lugano to Agno 1, Balerna 4, Bellinzona 6, Bironico 3, 
Camoghe 10, Capolago 3, Chiasso 44, Coire 30, Como 7, 
Isone 44, Laveno 8, Locarno 7, Luino 5, Magadino 54, 
Melide 1, Menaggio 7, Milan 8, Ponte Tresa 14 , Porlezza 3, 
San Salvatore 2, Taverne 2, Varese 7. 

Lucerne to Aarau 9, Aarburg 10, Alpnach 3, Altorf 8, 
Arth 4, Baar 5, Baden 11, Basle 20, Bellinzona 30, Berne 17, 


DISTANCES. 


333 


Bremgarten 8, Brienz 11, Brunnen 5, Brugg 11, Burgdorf 13, 
Cham 4, Daginersellen 7, Ebiken 1, Einsiedeln 9, Emmen 1, 
Engelberg 7, Entlibucli 5, Escliolzmatt 7-8, Fahrenbuhl 
Gersau 4, Gyslikerbruk 2-|, Hallwyl 3, ILerrgottswald 2, 
Hitzkirch 5, Hochdorf 3^, Knuttwyl 6, Kriens f, Kuss- 
naclit 2, Langenthal 9, Langnau 11, Lenzburg 10, Littau 1, 
Lungern 8, Makers 2, Meyringen 10, Munster 4, Muri 5, 
Olten 11, Rothenburg 2, Russwyl 3^, Ralhhausen 1, St. 
Gothard 18, St. Urban 8, Sarnen 5, Scliupfheim 6, 
Schwyz 0, Sempach 3, Soleure 10, Stanz 3, Sursee 5, Tliun 
by Berne 22, by Entlibucli 15, by the Brunig 19, Willisau 6, 
"VVseggis 2, Winkel l-£, Wolilen 7-8, Wollhausen 3^, Zofin- 
gen 9, Zurich 10, Zug 5. 

IWCartig-ny to Aigle 5-6, Aosta by the St. Bernard 10, by 
the Valley of Bagnes 18-19, Bex 4, Bouvernier 1^, Chable 3^, 
Chamonix 1, Chermontane 10, Grand St. Bernard 9, Liddes 
5, Ferrex 7, Finliauts by Salvent 5, Orsibres 3^, Riddes 3, 
St. Maurice 3^, St. Pierre 6, Sion 0, Trient4, Torembec 8, 
Yilleneuve 7-8. 

2S£eyringen to Altorf by the Susten 17, Andermatt by the 
Grimsel and the Furca 17, Brienz 3, Brunig 1£, Brvg 20, 
Engelberg by the Joch Pass 9|, Engstleualp 4^, Gadmen 4^, 
Grimsel (Hospice of the) 8, Grindelwald byRosenlauiS, Gut- 
tannen 3,V, Interlacken 6, Lungern 3, Obergestelen 12, Realp 
15, Rhone-Glacier 10, Rosenlaui 2, Scerenberg 0, Thun 12, 
Urbach thal 5, Wasen by the Susten 12. 

St. E£oritz to Andeer by Julier and Valette 13, Ardetz, 
9-10, Bernina (Col du) 3£, Bevers 2, Casarma 5, Cernetz 0- 
7, Chiavenna 9—10, Coire 10, Conters 9, Fettan 11, Finster- 
munz 10, Lenz 11, Maloja 3, Pontresina 1£, Poschiavo 6-7, 
Samaden 1^, Scanfs 4^, Schuols 12, Silvaplana L|, Sins 13, 
Stalla 4^, Tarasp 11, Tlnisis 15, Tirano by the Bernina 10, 
Vicosoprano 6, Zuz 4. 

Moudoa to Avenches 5-0, Echallens 3^, Freiburg by Rue 
9-10, Lausanne 4, Morat 7, Pay erne 3£, Romont 2|, Rue 1, 
Vevay 5-0 1 Yverdon 3£. 

Merges to Aubonne 2^, Bibre 3, Coppet 0-7, Cossonex 2£, 
Geneva 9, Joux (the Valley of) 5, Isles 3, Lasarraz 4, Lau¬ 
sanne 2, Montreux 8, N.von 4fc, Orbe 0, Pampigny 2|, 
Rolle 2£, St. Saphorin 1£, Villeneuve 9, Vevay 7, Vuflens 2, 
Yverdon 8. 

XVIorat to Aarberg 44 Anet 24 Avenches 2, Berne 5, 


334 


DISTANCES. 


Bienne 6, Buren 7, Cudrefin Erlach 3, Estavayer 6, Frei¬ 
burg 3, Gruyeres 9, Lausanne 12, Moudon 8, Neucliatel 0, 
Neuveville 5, Payerne 4, Romont 0-7, Yverdon 9. 

Weuchatel to Aarberg 6, Anet 3, Berne 9, Bienne 6-7, 
Boudry 2, Buren 9, Colombier 1£, Couvet 5, Cudrefin 2, 
Erlach 3, Estavayer 4, Freiburg by Morat 9, by Port Alban 
7, FleurierO, Grandson 7, Lachauxdefonds 4£, Landeron 2^, 
Lausanne 13, Locle 0, Morat 6, Motiers 5-6, Nidau 7, Neu¬ 
veville 3, Orbe 9, Pontarlier 12, Rochefort 2, St. Aubin 4, 
St. Imier 6, St. Pierre (Isle of) 4, Soleure 12, Travers 4£, 
Yallangin 1^, Verrieres 8, Yverdon 7. 

Orbe to Balaigne 2, to the Glees 1, to Cossonex 3, Grandson, 

3, Joux (the Valley of) 5-6, Lausanne 6, Lasarraz 1^, Lig- 
nerolles 1J, Motiers by Baulmes and St. Croix 7-8, by Yver¬ 
don and Fierz 6, Pontarlier 6-7, Romaimnotiers, H, St. 
Aubin 6-7, St. Croix by Baulmes 3^, by Yverdon 5-6, Yall- 
orbe 3^, Vaulion 3, Yverdon 2J. 

Olten to Aarau 3, Aarburg 1, Baden 9, Basle 8, Berne 6, 
Bienne 10, Brugg 7, Balsthal 3^, Burgdorf 8-9, Herzogen- 
buchsee 5-6, Huttwyl 7, Langenthal 4, Lenzburg 5, Liestal 6, 
Lostorf, 1^, Lucerne 11, Schinznach 3, Sissach 4^, Soleure 6, 
Sursee, 0, Wangen 4, Willisau 6, Zolingen 2, Zurich 13-14. 

Porrentrui to Basle9, Bienne by Delemont and Tavannes 
15, Coeuve 1, Cornol 2, Delemont 5, Delle 3, Ferrette 4, 
Lachauxdefonds by St. Ursanne and Saignelegier 12, Locle 
14, Miecourt 1^, Moutiers 7-8, Rangiers 3, St. Braix by St. 
Ursanne 4^, St. Ursanne 2^, Saignelegier 6-7, Tavannes 11. 

Ragas to Altstetten 9, Coire4, Fideris 6, Glarus, Ivalfeus 

4, Lichtensteig by Werdenberg 13, Lichtenstein 0, Malans 
1^, Mayenfeld 2\, Pfeifers (Baths of) f, Rapperschwyl 14, 
Rheineck 12, St. Gall 20, Sargans 1^, Vaettis 2, Wallenstaad 
4^, Werdenberg 5, Wesen 8-9, Zizers 2, Zurich 21. 

Rapperscbwyl to Bildliaus 8£, Einsiedeln 4, Eschenbach 
1^, Fischenthal 3^, Glarus 8, Greiffensee 5, Gruningen 2^, 
Kaltbrunnen 3^, Lichtensteig 6-7, Meilen 2§, Richtenschwyl 
1^, Ruti 1|, St. Gall 14-15, Schsenis 5, Schmerikon 2, 
Schwyz 9, Stsefa 1 Wald 2£, Weesee 6, Zurich 5-6. 

Regensberg to Baden 3, Brugg 5, Bulach 2, Eglisau 3£, 
Glattfelden 2, Kaiserstuhl 4, Kloten 2t, Laegernberg i, 
Lengnau 2£, Winterthur 5, Wurenlos 2, Zurich 3, Zurzach 5. 

Rheineck to Altstetten 3, Arbon 3, Appenzell 6, Balgach2, 
Bregenz 3, Bischofzell by Arbon 8, Coire 15, Constance 9, 


DISTANCES. 


335 


Frauenfeld 14, Gais 7, Heiden 1£, Lindau 5, Oberried 4£, 
Eagaz 12, Rorschach 1£, St. Gall 4, Sargans 9£, Sennwald, 
0 , Teufen 5, Trogen 3£, Werdenberg 7, Wyl 11_12. 

Eomont to Avenches 4£, Bulle3, Chatel St. Denis 4, Frei- 
burg 0, Gruyeres 4, Lausanne 6, Moudon 9, Morat 9, Pay- 
erne 2£, Promasens 3, Rue 2£, Semsales 3£, Yevay 6, Yver- 
don 5. 

Saanen to Ablentschen 2, Aigle by the Mosses 8, Ander- 
leuk 5, Bellegarde 4, Bulle 7, Chateau d’Oex 2, Freiburg 12, 
Gruyeres 6, Gsteig 2^, Lauenen 2, Montbovon 3£, Ormond 
by the Pillon 0-7, Sion by the Sanetsch 10-11, Thun 12-13, 
Zweisimmen 20-21. 

Sarnen to Alpnach It, Bekenried 4—5,Brienz 6, Brunig4, 
Buochs 3^i Engelberg 7-8, Flueli 1, Flueli in the Entlibuch 
4, Gyswyl 2, Hergiswyl 3, Kaltbad 3, Kerns \ , Lungern 3, Lu¬ 
cerne 5, Meyringen 6, Melchthal 2\, Ranft 1£, Sachseln 
Schupfheim 5^, Stanz 3. 

ScliafHiausen to Aarau 13, Andelfingen 3, Arbon 14-15, 
Baden 9, Basle 17, Brugg 9, Bulach 5, Constance 9, Falls of 
the Rhine 1, Diessenhofen 2, Donaueschingen 7, Eglisau 4, 
Frauenfeld 5, Hallau 3, Herblingen 1, Herisau 13, Hofen 3, 
Holientwyl 5, Kaiserstuhl 5, Laufenburg 10, Lindau 20, 
Lohn 2, Loehningen 2, Marthalen 2, Neuhausen f, Neuen- 
kirch 2£, Osterfingen 3^, Radolfzell 6, Ramsen 3, Reichenau 
6 , Rheinau 2, Rheinfelden 14, Rorschach 10, St. Blasien in 
the Black Forest 12, Schleitheim 3^, Siblingen 2£, Stein 4, 
Steckhorn 6, Stokach 7, Stettenl^, Stuhlingen 4, Stuttgart 20, 
Thaingen 2^, Thiengen 0, Trogen, 17, Tubingen 21, Tutt- 
lingen 8, Waldliaus 7, Wilchingen 3, Winterthur 5, Wyl 3, 
Zurich 9, Zurzach 6. 

Scliwyz to Altorf 5, Artli 3, Brunnen l£,Einsiedeln by the 
Haken 3|, by Rothenthurm 5, Egeri 3£, Gersau 2%, Glarus 
by the Pragel 10, Goldau 2£, Klcenthal 8, Kussnacht 4, 
Lachen 6, Lauei’z 1|, Lucerne 6, Muotta3, Richtenschwyl 6, 
Rothenthurm, 3, Sattel 2, Schindellegi 5, Seewen Steinen 
1 ^, Weeggithal 6, Yberg 3, Zug 0, Zurich 10. 

Sion to Aigle 11, Altorf 32, Andermatt 25, Aosta 24, Ardon 
2, Ayent 2, Bagne 9, Berne by Yevay and Freiburg 32, by the 
Gemmi 25, by the Ravyl 28, Bex by Martigny 9, by the Col 
de la Cheville 11-12, Bramois 1, Bryg 10, Chable 9, Cha¬ 
monix 10, Cheville (Col de la) 7, homo d’Ossola 23, Evian 
18, Evolena 0, Finhauts 9, Freiburg 20, Gemmi 8, Geneva 


336 


DISTANCES. 


by Thonon 26, by Lausanne 30, Grand St. Bernard 14, 
Grimsel 19, Gsteig 10, Heremence 3, Kandersteg 12, Lau¬ 
sanne 19, Leuk 12, Leuk (Loueche) 5, Loueche (Baths of) 7, 
Liddes 10, Martigny 5, Meyringen 27, Montbey 10, Munster 
10, Obergestelen 17-18, Orsieres 9, Baron 7, Ravyl (Col du) 

6— 7, Rhone (Glacier of the) 19-20, Saas 13, Saanen 12-13, 
Sanetsch (Col du) 5, Saillon 4, St. Gingolphe 15, St. Mau¬ 
rice 8, Savi£se 1^, Sierre 3, Simpeln 16, Simplon (Hospice of 
the) 15, Stalden 9, Thonon 20, Thun by the mountains 20, by 
Vevay and Berne 37, Tourtemagne 5, Viesch 14, Visoye 0£, 
Visp 8-9, Yevay 15, Villeneuve 13, Zermatt 17, Zweisim- 
men 14. 

Soleure to Aarau 10, Aarberg 6, Allerheiligen 3, Amman- 
segg 1-j, Attisliolz 1, Basle 12, Balsthal 4, Berne 7-8, Bienne 4, 
Bellach 1, Beinweil 8, Biberist 1, Burgdorf 5, Buren 3, Dor- 
nach 12, Erlisbach 9, Fraubrunnen 3, Gaensbrunnen 4, Gren- 
chen 2^, Herzogenbuchsee 3^, Hofwyl 5, Ivriegstetten 2, 
Langenthal 5, Langnau 10, Lostorf 8, Lucerne 16, Meltingen 
8-9, Mumliswyl 5, Neuchatel 12, Olten 7, Ste. Verfene (Her¬ 
mitage of) Tavannes 8, Weissenstein 3, Wangen 2^, 
Zurich 19. 

Stanz to Alpnach by the Bozlocli 2£, by Sarnen 4. Altorf 
by Engelberg 14, Beggenried 2, Brunig 6-7, Buochs 1, 
Buocliserhorn 4, Emmatten 3, Engelberg 4$, Grafenort 2£, 
Gyswyl 4, Hergiswyl 1£, Kerns 2, Lucerne 3J, Lungern 5-6, 
Meyringen by Engelberg 14, Melehthal 4£, Sachseln 3£, Sar¬ 
nen 3, Seelisberg 4, Stanzstaad 1, Winkel 2, Wolfenschiess 

H- 

Sursee to Aarau 6, Aarburg 5, Burgdorf 9, Dagmersellen 2, 
Entlibucji byWilisau 0-7, Hallwyl 4, Hitzkirch 3, Huttwyl 4, 
Knutwyl 1, Ivulm 4, Langenthal by St. Urban 6, by Huttwyl 

7- 8, Lucerne 5, Mossleerau 2^, Munster 14, Olten 0, Rheineck 
3, St. Urban5, Sempacli2, Soleure 11, Willisau 3, Wollhausen 
5, Zofingen 4. 

Tavannes aux Sols by Saignelegier 6, to Bellelay 2, 
Bienne 4, Court 2|, Courtlari 2, Delemont by Undervellier 7, 
by Moutiers 6, Glovelier 5-j, Lachauxdefonds 7, Locle 9, Mal- 
leray 1^, Moutiers 4, Reuchenette 2, Saignelegier 3^, St. 
Braix by Bellelai and Glovelier 7, St. Imier 3£, St. Ursanne 
10, Sonceboz Tramelan 1^, Undervellier 4. 

Thun to Adelboden 8, Aeschi 2^, Amsoldingen 1, Berne 5, 
Brienz 8, Blumenstein 2, Diemtigen 4, Diessbach 2, Entli- 


DISTANCES. 


337 


buch by Schangnau 9-10, Engelberg 22, Freiburg by Saanen 
24, Frutigen 5, Gerzensee 3, Glutsch 1£, Gruyeres 18, 
Grimsel 20, Grindelwald 10, Guggisberg 6, Gurnigel 3-£, In- 
terlacken 5, Kandersteg 8, Leuk 10, Leukerbad (Baths of 
Lou^che) 14, Leissigen 4, Langnau 5, Lauterbrunnen 7-8, 
Marbach 5-6, Meyringen 11, Munsingen 3, Obergestelen 23, 
Oberhofen 1£, Riggisberg 3, Saanen 12-13, Sarnen 12, 
Schangnau 4, Schwarzenegg l^, Spiez 2, Thierachern 1, 
Wasen 23, Wattenwyl 2, Weissenburg 5-0, Wimmis 2£, 
Zweisimmen 9. 

Thusis to Andeer 2^, Avers 10, Alveneu 4£, Chiavenna 13, 
Coire 5, Davos 9-10, Ferrara 5, Hinterrhein 7, Lenz 3£, 
Misocco 12-13, Reichenau 4, Rheinwald (Glacier of the) 10- 
11, Savientlial 3£, Spliigen 5, Stalla 13. 

Trogen to Altstetten 3, Appenzell 4, Arbon, 4, Bischofzell 
6, Buhler 1£, Gais 3, Grub 1£, Heiden 2, Herisau by St. 
Gall 4, Rheineck by Altstetten 6, by Heiden 4, St. Gall 2, 
Speicher Teufen 1£, Walzenhausen 3^, Wolfhalden 2^. 

Vevay to Aigle 6, Alliaz 2, Attalens 1|, Bex 7^, Bulle 6, 
Chatel St. Denis 2, Freiburg 12, Geneva 15, Gruyeres 7, 
Lausanne 3£, Martigny 11, Montbovon by the Dent de 
Jaraan 6, Montreux 1£, St. Maurice 8, Semsales 3, Ville- 
neuve 2^. 

Werdenberg to Altstetten 5, Appenzell by Wildhaus and 
Krayalp 6, by Altstetten and Gais 8, Coire 9, Feldkirch 3, 
Fideris 11, Glarus 12, Lichtensteig 8, Malans 5^, Pfeffers 
(Baths of) 6, Ragaz 5, Rheineck 7-8, Rorschach 9, St. Gall 
10, Saletz 2, Sargans 3, Sennwald 3, Wallenstaad 6, Wild¬ 
haus 2£. 

Winterthur to Andelfingen 2^, Basserstorf 2, Bauma 4, 
Bulach 4^, Constance 8, Diessenhofen 5, Eglisau 3£, Elgg2, 
Embrach 3, Fehraltorf 2£, Fisclienthal 6, Fischingen 6, 
Flaach 3£, Frauenfeld 3, Greiffensee 4, Gyrenbad 2£, Kai- 
serstuhl 6, Kloten 3, Kyburg 1|, Marthalen 3, Neftenbacb 1, 
Pffeffikon 3£, Rapperschwyl by Fischenthal 10, Rorbas 2£, 
Schaffhausen 5, Stammheim 5, Turbentlial 2£, Wyl 5, 
Ziirich 4. 

Yverdon to Avenches 7, Boudry 5-6, Cossonex 5, Esta- 
vayer 3£, Echallens 3|, Freiburg 9, Grandson 1, Lasarraz 
3£, Lausanne 7, Motiers 4£, Morat 9, Morges 7-8, Moudon 
3£, Neuchatel 7, Orbe 2£, Payerne 5, St. Aubin 4, St. 
Croix 2£, Vallorbe 6. 

z 


338 


DISTANCES. 


Zug- to AfFoltern 3^, Arth 2£, Baar Bremgarten 6, 
Buonas 1£, Chaam 1, Egeri by the Grand Rout 3£, by the 
Montagne d’Allenwinden 2^, Einsiedeln by Egeri 8, by Arth 
and Schwyz 10, Gyslikerbruk 2£, Goldau 3£, Gubel 2^, 
Horgen 3, Hutten 3£, Kappel 1£, Knonau 2, Lucerne 5, 
Menzingen 2, Morgarten 5, Muri G, Neuheim 2^, Schwyz 6, 
Sihlbruk 1£, Walchwyl 1£, Zurich 6. 

Zurich to Aarau 9, Andelfingen 7, Arth 9, Baar 5, Baden 
4£, Basle 17, Basserstorf 2, Bauraa 6, Berne 23, Brem¬ 
garten 3^, Bulach 4, Coire 25, Constance 12, Diessenhofen 
10, Dietiklon 2, Eglisau 5, Einsiedeln 7, Egg 3, Elgg 7, 
Embrach 3^, Feuerthalen 9, Fischenthal 7, Frauenfeld 7, 
Glarus 13, Greiffensee 3, Gruningen 5, Hoengg 1, Horgen 3, 
Hutten 5-6, Kaiserstuhl 6, Kappel 4, Kloten 2, Knonau 5, 
Kussnacht 1|-, Lachen 8, Lenzburg 7, Lichtensteig 13, Lu¬ 
cerne 10, Meilen 3, Mellingen 6, Pfoeffikon 3^, Rafz G, Rap- 
perscliwyl 6, Regensberg 3, Rheinau 7-8, Richtenschwyl 5, St. 
Gall 15, Schaffhausen 10, Schinznach 7, Schwyz 12, Staefa 5, 
Stammheim 8, Stanz 13, Thalwyl 1^, Uster 4, Utznach 9, 
Waedenschwyl 4£, Wallenstaad 17, Winterthur 4, Wohlen 5, 
Zug 6, Zurzach 8. 





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INDEX. 


Aar Glaciers, 6(3 
Aarborg, 31 
Abendberg, 48 
Aeggishorn, 290 
Aesch, 27 
Aigle, 159 
Allmendingen, 35 
Alpnaeh and its Slide, 85 
Altorf, 79 
Altstetten, 313 
Am-Steg, 78 
Andeer, 307 
Andermatt, 74 
Aosta, 263 
Arth', 99 
Attighausen, 79 
Augst, 320 

Avenclies, or Aventicum, 108 

Baden (in Aargau), 323 
Baggage, 1 
Basle, 20 

Baths of Pfeifers, 310 

-of Leuk, 277 

Beckenried, 84 


Belmont, 3 L 
Belpberg, 35 
Berne, 31 
Bex, 159 

-, salt-works of, 160 

Biel, or Bienne, 30 
Bienne, or Biel, 30 
Bionnay, 223 
Birs, Valley of the, 21 
Bonneville, 169 
Bore, the, 234 
Botzlingen, 78 
i Brevent, 190 
Brieg, 275 
Brunnen, 83 
Buet, Ascent of the, 242 
-, Descent of, to Cha¬ 
monix, 244 
Burglen, 79 

Carouge, 122 

Cascade des Pelerins, 187 

Cernetz, 303 

Cervin, Mt. View from the 
pass of, 271 








INDEX. 


340 

Cervin, Mt., 271 
Chamonix, 177 
Cliene, 168 
Chillon, 155 
Chapeau, the, 189 
Charts, 13 
Chur, 295 
Ciamut, 292 
Clarens, 152 
Cluses, 170 
Coire, 309 

Col de Balme, 196, 252 
Col du Geant, 218 
Constance, 314 
Contamines, 169 
Coppet, 139 
Coupeau, 190 
Cretinism, 265 
Cully, 147 

Daehsfelden, 29 
Daubensee, 284 
Dead, Lake of the, 67 
Delemont, 28 
Delsberg, 28 
Dent du Midi, Ascent of, 234 
Devil’s Bridge, 75 
Diessenhofen, 316 
Directions for the Journey, 1 
Disentis, 292 
Distances, Table of, 325 
Dornach, 27 
Douvaine, 167 

Engadine, Load to, 296 
- Scenery and Po¬ 
pulation of, 299 
Erguel-tlial, or Yal St. Imier, 
30 

Eschental, 289 

Escher von der Linth, 322 

Evian, 166 


Faulhorn, the, 54 
Fer a Clieval, 233 
Ferney, 123 
Findelen Glacier, 271 
Flegere, the, 188 
Fliins, 294 
Fluellen, 80 

Fond de la Combe, 233, 235 
Forclaz, Col de, 192, 252 
Freiburg, 105 
Frutigen, 

Furca Pass, 68 

Gemini Passes, the, 275,281 
Geneva, 114, 167 

-, Lake of, 130 

Gers, Tour through, 241 
Gersau, 84 
Geschenen, 77 
Gibbon’s House, 111 
Glaciers, nature of, 17 

-of the Aar, 66 

-des Bossons, 208 

- of Grindelwald, 53, 56 

-of the Rhone, 67 

-of Rosenlaui, 58 

Goldau, 99 
Gorner Glacier, 271 
Grand Plateau, 214 
Grands Mulets, 211 
Great St. Bernard Pass, 255 

-Hospice, 258 

-Dogs, 259 

-Morgue, 261 

Grellingen, 28 
Grimsel Pass, 61 

-Hospice, 63 

Grindelwald, 53 

-Valley of, 49 

Grotte de Balme, 171 
Grand, 61 

Grutli, Meadow of, 82 
















INDEX. 


341 


Grutli, League of, 83 
Gsteigwyler, 49 
Guggenbiihl, Dr., his Cretin 
Institution, 48 
Guides, 11 

Hasli, Valley of, 59 
Haute-Valais, 289 
Horgen, 101 
Hospital, 09 

Ilanz, 293 
Inns, 10 
Interlacken, 46 
Isella, 288 

Jardin, the, 202 
Jorat, the, 108 
Jungfrau, the, 52 

Kandersteg, 284 

Lalenkonig, the, 26 
Laufenberg, 319 
Lauffen, 28 
Laupen, 104 
Lausanne, 109 
Lauterbrunnen, 50 

-, Valley of, 48 

Lavater, 103 
Leman, Lake, 130 
— : —, Tour by, 136 
Leuk, 275 

-, Baths of, 277 

Liddes, 256 
Linth Canal, 322 
Louis Philippe d’Orleans, a 
resident at Beichenau, 295 
Lucerne, 89 

-, Lake of, 80 

Luggage, 9 
Liitschine, 49 


Marengo, defile of, 257 
Marie zum Schnee, 98 
Martigny, 264 
Martinsbruck, 303 
Mer de Glace, 200 
Meyringen, 59 
Money and Coins, 4, 15 
Montanvert, 200 
Mont Blanc, Ascent of, 205 
Mont Buet, 198 
Mont Gestler, 30 
Mont Joye, 222 
Monte Bosa Excursion to, 
269 

-View of, 272 

Morges, 143 

Moudon, or Milden, 108 
Mount Pilate, 85 
Moutiers, Val de, or Miin- 
sterthal, 27 
Munsingen, 36 
Munster, 28 
Munsterthal, 27 
Mur de la Cote, 216 

Nant Noir, 175 
Neueneck, 104 
Nidan, 30 

Notre Dame de la Gorge, 223 
Nyon, 139 

Oberalp, 291 

Oberland, the Bernese, 39 

-Tour in the, 40 

Orsiei’es, 256 

Passports, 4, 31, 91,167,168 
Pay erne, 107 
Peterhausen, 315 
Pfeffers, Old Baths of, 310 

-Abbey of, 312 

Pierre Pertuis, 29 












342 


INDEX. 


Pisse-Vache, or Fall of Sal- 
lanche, 163 

Police Regulations, 109, 115 
Ponts, Pass of, 203 
Preverenges, 145 
Prou, 257 
Pruntrunt, 28 

Ragatz, 310 

Railway, Swiss Northern, 323 
Randa, 270 
Re alp, 69 
Reconvillier, 29 
Reichenau, 294 
Reichenhach Fall, 59 
Rennendorf, 28 
Reuss, Valley of the, 69 
Rhealt, Castle of, 305 
Rheineck, 313 
Rheinfeld, 320 
Rhine, Sources of, 291 

-Falls of, 317 

Rhone, Glacier of the, 67 

-Valley of the, 264 

Riffelberg, Excursion to, 268 
Rigid, Ascent of the, 91, 93 

-View from, 94 

Roche, 28 

Rochers Rouges, 215 
Roger, Fall of the, 241 
Rockweiler, 29 
Rolle, 141 
Rorschach, 313 
Rosenlaui, Glacier of, 58 

-Baths of, 58 

Rossberg, Fall of the, 98 
Routes, 7, 19, 40 

St. Gervais, Valley of, 222 
St. Gingolph, 16 
St. Gotliard Pass, 71 
-Hospice of the, 72 


St. Jacob, Battle of, 22 
St. Maurice, 162 
St. Nicholas, 269 
St. Saphorin, 148 
St. Sulpice, 145 
Sales, Chalets of, 238 
Sallanches, 172 
Salvent, 233 
Samaden, 302 
Samoens, Valley of, 219 
Sarganz, 312 
Saugern, or Sohiere, 28 
Savoy, 168 
Schaffhausen, 316 
Scheideck the Greater, 56 

-the Lesser, 51 

Schellinen, Defile of, 77 
Schmerikon, 323 
Schuols, 303 
Schwarenbach, 284 
Sennwald, 313 
Servoz, 175 
Sevelen, 313 
Sierre, 266 
Simplon Pass, 285 

-Village of, 287 

Sion, 266 

Sixt, and its Valley, 225 
Sonceboz, 30 
Spliigen Pass, 303 
Staubbach, Fall of the, 50 
Steckhorn, 316 
Stein, 316, 320 
Surbelen, or Servillier, 29 

Talefre, Glacier of, 203 
Tamina, Gorge of the, 309, 
311 

Taneverge, 232 
Tarasp, 303 
Tavannes, 29 
Tavetsch, Valley of, 291 












INDEX. 


343 


Tellenplatte, 81 
Tete Noire, 194 
Thonon, 160 
Thun, 37 

- Lake of, 41 

Thusis, 304 
Tour de Peilz, 151 
Tour Ronde, 166 
Tourtemagne, 267 
Treib, 83 
Trient, 252 
Trons, 292 

Unspunnen, 48 
Unterseen, 48 
Uri, Canton of, 70 
Urnerloch, 75 
Ursen, Plain of, 70 

Val d’Ossola, 289 
Yal Orsine, 250 
Yal St. Imier, or Erguel-thal, 
30 

Yaudru, 236 
Vaux, 146 
Vemex, 154 
Yersoix, 138 
Yevay, 149 
Via Mala, 305 
Vidy, 145 


Viesch, 290 
Villeneuve, 156 
Visp, 267 
Voza, Col de, 193 

Waklshut, 319 
Wallenstadt, 321 
Wasen, 77 
Weggis, 85, 92 
Weissenstein, 28 
Wengern Alp, 51 
Wesen, 322 

William Tell, his Birth-place 
and Residence, 79 
-his Escape and Achieve¬ 
ments, 82 

-Scene of his Death, 79 

Women of the Valais, 264 

Zermatt, 271 

- Glacier of, 271 

Zernetz, 303 
Zug, 99 

-Lake of, 99 

Zurich, 101 

- Lake of, 101 

Zuz, 303 

Zweiliitschinen, 49 
Zwingen, 28 









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